J H Godwin Primary School

J H Godwin Primary School

Address: Melbourne Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5JG Unique reference number (URN): 110983

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Expected standard

Children get off to a successful start in the early years. Leaders provide a well-ordered and broad curriculum. They continue to review and refine it to meet the needs of children. Effective teaching helps children to progress well from their starting points across all areas of learning, particularly in communication and language. Staff check how well children learn and adjust teaching as necessary.

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Early years Expected standard

Children develop a love of reading. Much of their learning centres around carefully chosen texts, rhymes and songs. Staff deliver the phonics programme well. This enables children to read with increasing fluency and develop their pre-writing skills. Staff encourage children to write down their ideas.

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Early years Expected standard

Skilled staff benefit from appropriate training to develop their practice. They provide children with typically high-quality interactions, which enrich children’s language, vocabulary and thinking skills. For example, staff introduce ambitious vocabulary during children’s play.

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Early years Expected standard

Staff focus on building nurturing relationships with children and their families. They enable parents and carers to understand how to help their children’s learning at home. Staff support children’s personal, social and emotional development well. Clear routines help children to settle and gain independence in learning. Children lead their own play and focus well during learning opportunities. They are well prepared for their next steps, including their move into Year 1.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have improved their approach to inclusion. They have strengthened the school’s existing systems to identify and address pupils’ additional needs, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are disadvantaged. Leaders work closely with external professionals and with parents and carers to provide additional support when needed. As a result, pupils with barriers to their learning and wellbeing learn more readily alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with effective professional learning. This enables staff to understand the barriers that pupils face, including in social, emotional and mental health. Staff use this information well and provide careful adaptations to learning. They draw on specialist advice and follow step-by-step approaches to meet pupils’ individual needs. Staff provide additional support and learning sessions to help pupils to progress from their starting points. Leaders make sure that additional funding is used effectively for pupils who are disadvantaged.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders review their improved approaches and the impact that they have on pupils’ learning and wellbeing. They adjust support when needed. However, these improvements are still being embedded across the school. This means that some pupils, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, do not achieve or attend school as well as they should.

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Achievement Needs attention

Over time, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged, do not achieve as well as they should. This is reflected in pupils’ low attainment in national tests in Year 6. Many older pupils do not secure their knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have taken appropriate action to remedy this, which shows improvements in pupils’ current achievement. However, these improvements are recent and not fully embedded. It is too soon to see the full impact of this work.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils secure their phonics skills well in key stage 1. As they move up school, pupils broadly progress through the curriculum and develop their knowledge across subjects. However, staff do not identify some of the knowledge gaps and misconceptions that pupils have quickly enough. This means that some poor handwriting and errors in pupils’ work continue over time. Pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they should be.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils’ levels of attendance have been consistently below national averages over time. Persistent absence has been high. Leaders have established an appropriate strategy and clear procedures to improve attendance. They know the reasons for absence and why this remains a barrier for some pupils. Leaders work well with families and external professionals. This is showing improvement for some pupils. Nonetheless, improvements have not been steady or quick enough. Too many pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. This limits how successful they are and how well they achieve.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders have been effective in their efforts to improve pupils’ behaviour, including at playtimes. They provide a range of activities to encourage pupils to socialise and play well together. Pupils’ conduct around school is positive. They are polite and well mannered towards others. Bullying is rare. Staff resolve any such issues quickly and effectively. Suspensions have reduced over time. Leaders have provided staff with training to better understand and support pupils’ changing needs, including in social, emotional and mental health. Staff adapt their approach for pupils who need additional support, such as by providing calm spaces in classrooms. Overall, pupils focus well during lessons. Staff generally address minor occasions of pupil disengagement effectively, to limit disruption to pupils’ learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders accurately understand the quality of the curriculum and teaching. Following recent monitoring, they have taken swift action to develop teaching approaches that support pupils’ confidence and independence in learning. Leaders have strengthened the way that reading, writing and mathematics is taught. However, while these actions are appropriate, some are at an early stage of implementation. It is too soon to determine the sustained impact of this work. Although staff have secure subject knowledge, their implementation of the curriculum is variable. For example, staff deliver phonics well and develop pupils’ oracy through subject- specific vocabulary. They provide opportunities for pupils to revisit learning. However, teaching is uneven. It does not fully secure pupils’ basic knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 2. Staff do not consistently address gaps or misconceptions in

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

pupils’ learning swiftly enough. As a result, many pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are disadvantaged, do not acquire the knowledge that they need and do not catch up as quickly as they should.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders provide a broad and balanced curriculum. It is well ordered and has ambitious end goals. Leaders continue to refine the curriculum to ensure that it is well matched to pupils’ learning needs.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Following some instability in leadership, current leaders have acted quickly to understand the school’s context and areas for improvement. They identify the correct aspects to develop and act in the best interests of pupils. For example, leaders know that improving teaching, pupils’ achievement and attendance, including for disadvantaged pupils, is a priority. However, while their actions are appropriate, much of this work is recent and it is too soon to see the impact of this across the school.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governance is improving. Many governors have been appointed since the previous inspection. They understand their roles and ensure that statutory duties are met. Governors are developing their oversight of the school’s work. Nonetheless, over time, governors have not been effective in their support and challenge to hold leaders to account. Some approaches to provide assurance of the impact of leaders’ work do not give a precise enough picture.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff feel well supported by leaders for their workload and wellbeing. They are particularly appreciative of this support during periods of change. Leaders provide staff with a range of professional learning and have introduced robust systems to support their practice. For example, recent monitoring and coaching is beginning to have a positive impact, but this is in its early stages.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders ensure that partnerships with parents are fostered. Parents and carers are positive about the school and the recent changes that leaders have made. They appreciate regular communication from leaders and staff’s support for their children.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders focus on supporting pupils’ wellbeing across the school, including through effective partnerships with families and external specialists. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, know who to approach when they need support. Leaders have started to strengthen the school’s personal development offer. Nonetheless, this work is recent.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders provide an appropriate personal, social, health and economic programme that is tailored to the school’s context. Pupils understand how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. They learn how to mitigate risks that they may face outside school and online. Pupils are kind, sensitive and respectful towards others. From the start of school, they learn that their opinions matter, for example by voting for stories and for pupils’ leadership roles. Pupils develop important knowledge to be safe and positive citizens. However, some of this knowledge is variable. For instance, pupils lack sufficient understanding of different religions, fundamental British values and equality matters. Leaders have taken recent steps to improve this, but further work is needed to secure pupils’ knowledge.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Pupils socialise well during playtimes and engage in a range of activities. They enjoy spending time with pupils of all ages. Pupils look forward to trips and visits, including residentials and a local secondary school. They develop their future career aspirations. While pupils access some clubs in sports, journaling and chess, the offer is not wide-ranging enough to enhance their talents and interests. Leaders have started to track pupils’ experiences, including for those who are disadvantaged, but have not used this information to tailor the offer or ensure that pupils benefit fully.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Pupils develop leadership skills through a variety of roles and responsibilities. For example, they serve as head pupils, school councillors and leaders in sports and science. Pupils value contributing to the school, including as mental-health ambassadors who support their peers.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy being part of this kind and welcoming school. They arrive happily and settle quickly into morning activities. Pupils have warm and positive relationships with caring staff. They know that staff will support them if they have any concerns. This includes rare instances of bullying, which staff resolve quickly.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from recent improvements to teaching and learning. Leaders are aspirational for what pupils can achieve. Pupils have generally positive attitudes towards their learning. They develop their knowledge and skills successfully in key stage 1, particularly in early reading. However, leaders’ improvements are recent and are not fully embedded. Pupils’ attainment in Year 6 has been below national averages over time. While pupils’ learning is improving, they have some gaps in their knowledge. They do not achieve as well as they should by the time that they leave school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children in the early years make a positive start to their education. They benefit from effective teaching that ignites their curiosity and imagination. Children follow their interests and successfully lead their own play, such as making watches from craft materials and building pirate ships.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils behave well across the school. They are respectful towards staff and their peers. Leaders quickly identify and address the barriers to learning and wellbeing that pupils face, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, too many pupils do not attend school regularly. This means that they miss out on important learning. Pupils benefit from trips and visitors that broaden their horizons and aspirations. They take on a variety of responsibilities. Leaders have started to improve the provision for pupils’ wider development. As these changes are recent, pupils have not benefited fully. They are not as prepared as they should be for life in modern Britain.

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Next steps

Leaders should fully embed recently improved approaches to teaching and ensure that staff deliver the curriculum consistently well. Leaders should continue to support staff in swiftly identifying and addressing gaps in pupils’ knowledge, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged. Leaders should ensure that pupils’ overall achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6 improves. Leaders and governors should ensure that their actions to improve attendance have the intended impact to raise pupils’ levels of attendance and reduce persistent absence. Leaders should improve the personal development programme to provide pupils with broader opportunities and ensure that they secure the knowledge that they need for life in modern Britain. Those responsible for governance should strengthen their oversight and assurance across all aspects of the school’s work, to hold leaders fully to account and ensure that

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Martin Brannan.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMI.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the acting headteacher, other school leaders, staff and pupils during the inspection. The lead inspector also spoke with representatives of the governing body and of the local authority.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school has undergone a significant change since the last inspection. There have been several changes to leadership and governance. An acting headteacher has recently been appointed.

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Lead inspector:

David Lobodzinski, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Neil Le Feuvre, Ofsted Inspector Phil Dickson, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

National average: 300 Acting headteacher: Keira Orme

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2022/23 (final) 56% 60% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (final) 79% 72% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 67% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2022/23 (final) 74% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 56% 58% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 50% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 50% 61% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 56% 59% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 58% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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