St John the Baptist Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CE VA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 13 th – 15 th October 2003

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ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CE VA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CE VA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Voluntary aided Age range of pupils: 3 - 11 years Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 276

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Crondall Street Hoxton Hackney London

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: (0207) 739 4902 Fax number: (0207) 729 2347

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mrs Y McKenzie

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 21 st September 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School is a voluntary aided school situated in Hoxton, London. It serves a wide area, which consists of privately owned and local authority properties. The school is of a similar size to most other schools and there are 276 girls and boys on roll, including 22 children in the reception class. There are 15 full-time children and 20 part-time children who attend the Nursery, making a full-time equivalent of 25 children. These are admitted twice a year, once in September and once in January. Most transfer to the reception class, continuing until they leave at the end of Year 6, and attainment on entry is well below average. Sixty-six per cent of pupils are from ethnic minority families which is much higher than the national figure and 54 per cent learn English as an additional language, of whom 117 are at an early stage of English language acquisition. The

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

main languages spoken at home, other than English, are Yoruba Twi, and Turkish. Thirty-five per cent of pupils have been identified as having special educational needs, which is higher than most other schools and 14 pupils have statements. Pupils’ particular needs include emotional and behavioural difficulties, speech and communication, moderate learning needs, visual or multi- sensory impairment and autism. The school achieved the Investors in People award in 2000. It is also involved with the ‘New Deal for Shoreditch’ initiative and has a home-link officer for one day a week, and a home-link worker for one day a week. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 2

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

20603 Ms A Coyle Lead inspector English as an additional language, Special educational needs 19322 Ms J Bedawi Lay inspector 14509 Mr P Mann Team inspector English, Information and communication technology, Physical education 31819 Ms S Duggins Team inspector Mathematics, Geography, History, Foundation Stage 19127 Mr D Donaldson Team inspector Science, Art and design, Design and technology, Music

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Tribal PPI Barley House Oakfield Grove BRISTOL BS8 2BN

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 3

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 6 - 9

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 6 - 9

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 9 - 13

Teaching and learning The curriculum Care, guidance and support Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 26

St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 4

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OVERALL EVALUATION

St John the Baptist Primary School provides a suitable education for its pupils and satisfactory value for money. The teaching, leadership, management and standards in most subjects are satisfactory . However, the governance of the school is unsatisfactory and the standards of achievement are too low in science.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• The school provides an inclusive, racially harmonious and good cultural environment. • Teaching is sometimes very good in English and mathematics and occasionally excellent in music. • The school makes good provision for pupils with special educational needs. • Standards have declined in science and are too low. • There are shortcomings in the provision for children in the nursery and reception classes. • Governors are not involved enough in strategic planning or management of the school. • Levels of attendance and punctuality are unsatisfactory.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

The school has improved satisfactorily overall since it was last inspected in 1998 because it has tackled the key issues appropriately and rectified most of the shortcomings identified. As a result, standards have improved noticeably in mathematics, the quality of teaching is better and the curriculum is planned more suitably. However, levels of attendance remain too low, there are still omissions in the governors’ information to parents and the provision for the youngest children has not been developed fully. These remain barriers to further improvement.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2000 2001 2002 2002 English D E D A mathematics D E B A science C E E D Key: A – well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average. Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 6.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Standards are generally lower than the national picture, but achievement is satisfactory overall, except in mathematics where it is good and in science where it is unsatisfactory. The above table shows that standards have been lower than the national averages fairly consistently over the last three years by the end of Year 6. However, given pupils’ low attainment on entry and significant language or special educational needs, it is clear that they get a good deal in the infant and junior classes. From low results in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 in 2002, pupils achieve results that are much better than those of similar schools in English and mathematics at the end of Year 2. The inspection evidence finds that most pupils achieve as well as they can. However, although the majority achieve enough in relation to their capabilities and those with special educational needs make as much progress as others, some of the more capable do not achieve as

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

well as they might in science where standards are still too low. 1

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

By the end of Year 6, pupils are expected to attain Level 4 in all National Curriculum subjects. Those who achieve Level 5 are therefore attaining above the nationally expected levels. By the end of Year 2, pupils are expected to attain Level 2 in all National Curriculum subjects. Those who achieve Level 3 are therefore attaining above the nationally expected levels. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 5 Children enter the school with limited skills. They increase their knowledge in the nursery and reception classes but the provision for them does not take enough account of individual starting points and the steps needed to help them achieve more. By the time they reach the end of the reception year, some children are underachieving and many do not attain the Early Learning Goals. This is because teachers’ planning is not precise enough for personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

understanding of the world and physical and creative development. 2

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

The school’s procedures for promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development are satisfactory; cultural development is good. Most pupils show satisfactory attitudes to learning and behave appropriately in the good inclusive environment, although levels of attendance are unsatisfactory in relation to the national picture.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The school provides a satisfactory quality of education for its pupils. Teaching is currently satisfactory overall throughout the school and a significant amount is good; it is sometimes very good in English and mathematics and occasionally excellent in music but unsatisfactory in science. Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to the life of the school and sport pupils with special educational needs well.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The satisfactory curriculum is enriched by the sound procedures for the care and welfare of pupils.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall, but the governance is unsatisfactory . The acting headteacher has worked very hard to provide successful temporary leadership, but the governors are not clear enough about what needs to be done nor do they act as critical friends or rigorously monitor the school’s provision.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The school has a sound reputation in the community and most parents and pupils are satisfied with the quality of education it provides.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are: • raise the standards in science; • develop the provision for children in the nursery and reception classes by planning for learning more clearly; and • improve aspects of governance, particularly the strategic planning and monitoring of the school.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

and, to meet statutory requirements: • ensure that the required information for special educational needs is published in the prospectus and governors’ annual report to parents.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

2 ON EARLY LEARNING GOALS - From September 2000, QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority), have introduced a set of ‘Early Learning Goals for children’s learning’. These goals are a set of skills, knowledge and understanding that children might be expected to achieve by the end of the reception year in the following areas of learning: communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; knowledge and understanding of the world; creative development; physical development, and personal, social and emotional development. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 6

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Children in the nursery and reception classes achieve satisfactorily . Achievement in Years 1 to 6 is mainly satisfactory . Standards are above the nationally expected levels by Year 6 in mathematics but they are below those expected in English and science.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are improving steadily in English. • Pupils achieve well in mathematics and standards are good by Year 6. • Pupils with special educational needs make good progress. • Standards have declined in science and too many pupils are underachieving in the subject.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2002

Standards in: School results National results reading 75 (71) 84 (84) writing 80 (76) 86 (86) mathematics 80 (89) 90 (91) There were 40 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2002

Standards in: School results National results English 71 (55) 75 (75) mathematics 79 (45) 73 (71) science 75 (77) 86 (87) There were 28 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2002

1. Most pupils achieve satisfactorily in English, although standards are below those expected nationally. However, given pupils’ low attainment on entry and significant language or special educational needs they do well overall. From low beginnings, pupils increase their skills steadily so that by the end of Year 6 last year they achieved results that were much better than those of similar schools; 71 per cent gained Level 4 and 18 per cent attained the higher Level 5. This indicates that, although not enough reached the higher levels, the school is improving its standards, especially in writing and most pupils have made sound progress since joining the school because basic literacy skills are taught well.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2002

2. Achievement in mathematics is good amongst most groups of pupils. In the 2002 national tests, standards were above the national average and those of similar schools at the end of Year 6, with 79 per cent of pupils at Level 4 and 27 per cent achieved the higher Level 5. This represents good achievement from Year 2 where standards were well below the national average. The latest results for 2003 indicate that standards are even better than last year’s and the inspection findings concur that standards are above the national expectations overall by the time pupils are in Year 6. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 7 3. Standards have declined in science since the last inspection and continue to do so. This worrying trend has been adversely affected by the lack of a co-ordinator to monitor the subject and thus pupils are not doing well enough. The national tests for 2002 the results show that only 75 per cent of pupils in Year 6 attained Level 4 and just 14 per cent reached the higher

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2002

Level 5, which was well below the national figure. The 2003 results show that standards have dropped even further. This means that pupils are now underachieving because they do not increase their knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts consistently as they move up the year groups.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2002

4. Children in the nursery and reception classes make reasonable progress so that by the end of the reception year they achieve some of the Early Learning Goals in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. However, they are unlikely to attain the expected goals in these areas or in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative development and physical development. This is because they have much ground to make up from a well below average starting point on entry and the provision does not extend learning enough.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2002

5. Most infant and junior-aged pupils achieve as well as they can, except in science and no significant variations were identified during the inspection between the progress of girls and boys. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and achieve well. The many who learn English as an additional language achieve appropriately because they are guided satisfactorily in lessons, although there is no bilingual support in the later stages to help them.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupil’s attitudes and behaviour are satisfactory . Relationships and the quality of racial harmony are good . Attendance and punctuality are unsatisfactory . Pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The good quality relationships and racial harmony. • The good focus on pupils’ social and cultural development. • Attendance and punctuality are unsatisfactory and not monitored effectively.

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Commentary

6. Pupils get on well with adults and with each other. They share and mix together easily, forming many friendships across different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Pupils are interested in each other’s lives and are curious to discover more. They are tolerant and supportive of each other, often helping to explain work to others in lessons. Adults provide clear role models for pupils to follow and there is positive racial and social harmony.

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Commentary

7. Spiritual and moral development are fostered satisfactorily. Pupils’ social and cultural development is good, enhancing personal development. A shared sense of ‘ family ’ is well promoted. Social responsibility is encouraged well; older pupils share stories with the reception children, have a tasty breakfast together and the school council involves pupils in Years 1-6. Pupils interviewed headteacher candidates, asking some searching questions. Their ideas are valued and often exciting, like setting up a school cheer leading team. Pupils talk enthusiastically about residential visits to Kent and a farm in Devon. The school celebrates its pupils’ cultural heritages well. Pupils worked together on topics for Black History Week; other faith festivals are recognised and celebrated. Parents help to translate general school documents and dual language stories. This is particularly valued by Turkish parents and the

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Commentary

school is ready to help with translations into other languages, if requested. Pupils are preparing their multicultural contribution to the Lord Mayor’s Show in November. Fried plantain is awaited eagerly as part of the special African lunch menu. This positive focus and celebration of social St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 8 and cultural life does much to raise individual self-esteem, confidence and pride in the school community.

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Commentary

8. Attitudes to learning and behaviour are satisfactory. Pupils like the teachers, answer questions effectively and enjoy praise. Pupils with other home languages, learning English language skills, are encouraged appropriately, as are pupils lacking confidence in speaking. In the majority of lessons behaviour is satisfactory, but noise increases if learning lacks challenge for the most capable or work consists of too many worksheets and colouring-in activities. At break, pupils move around the school with care. They are generally sensible, but quiet activities are often disrupted by over lively football games. No bullying was seen during inspection. There was ten fixed-term exclusions last year due to poor behaviour. The pupils know the clear reward system and understand the steps taken by staff to modify pupils’ behaviour.

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Commentary

9. Attendance is unsatisfactory and lower than the majority of primary schools, nationally. Many pupils arrive late, as at the last inspection. Last years’ registers show significant absence caused by family holidays, unauthorised absence and authorised absence for parental illness. This year, attendance seems better with less holidays and unauthorised absences. However, registers are not kept properly because individual pupil marks are missed, many sessions are marked in pencil and marks changed without explanation. School attendance figures are inconsistent with computerised data sent to the local authority, the department for education and skills and to parents. In the last year, the work of the home school liaison officer is improving parental communication on attendance by weekly telephoning at home or workplace, when there is concern. Whilst these initiatives and support are helpful, not enough is done to

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Commentary

further improve attendance. School policy allows governors to grant long holidays. Formal written holiday requests are not insisted upon. There is no way to track late pupils, apart from marking registers, but arrival times and reasons are not recorded. These shortcomings prevent identification of any emerging patterns or effective intervention.

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 5.8 School data 0.1 National data 5.4 National data 0.5 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 9

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll 2002 - Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 55 2 0 White – Irish 8 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 5 1 0 Mixed – White and Black African 4 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 10 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 36 2 0 Black or Black British – African 155 5 0 Any other ethnic group 19 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The school provides a satisfactory quality of education for its pupils. Its sound curriculum is extended suitably by the satisfactory provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education and the good support for pupils with special educational needs.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching is sometimes very good in English and mathematics and occasionally excellent in music. • Teaching assistants are deployed carefully to guide pupils with special educational needs. • The teaching of science is inconsistent and unsatisfactory. • Learning is good in mathematics.

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Commentary

10. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and rarely less than satisfactory. This represents a good improvement since the previous inspection and makes a positive contribution to pupils’ sound attitudes to their work. Teaching is satisfactory in the nursery and reception classes. It is also satisfactory overall in Years 1 to 6, but it ranges from very good to unsatisfactory. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 10

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

1 (2%) 7 (16%) 10 (23%) 24 (54%) 2 (5%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

11. Children in the nursery and reception classes are taught satisfactorily. The adults working with them have a clear understanding of their needs and parents are welcome to join in with activities until their children have settled. However, although the provision is organised into an early years unit, the lack of distinction between the provision for nursery children and that provided for reception children has led to insufficient detail in teachers’ planning. The learning intentions for activities are not always sufficiently precise to guide teaching. As a result, reception children sometimes spend too much time on free-choice activities without effective adult interaction to take their learning forward and do not gain as much as they should. This is exacerbated by the fact that teachers’ planning does not change significantly enough to take account of assessments and thus help staff focus on improving children’s knowledge,

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

understanding and skills. Nevertheless, due to the good support from the learning support staff, most children enjoy learning, which contributes to their growing levels of confidence and the ends of lessons are used well to help them consider their successes.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

12. The quality of teaching and learning in English is satisfactory overall. It is sometimes very good, particularly in Year 6 where there are excellent features in planning. Generally, all teachers have secure subject knowledge and the National Literacy Strategy has been implemented well since the last inspection. Basic skills are taught suitably to ensure that pupils make progress in learning and appropriate links are made with other subjects, although too many worksheets limit the development of literacy skills in science, history and geography. Overall, teachers are skilful in identifying ways to interest and motivate pupils in learning, particularly by the good inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in discussions and by praising their responses. Pupils undertake work that makes increasing demands on their knowledge and understanding and, as a result, they learn satisfactorily. The reading recovery

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

activities have been used to good effect to help raise standards amongst the lowest achievers.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

13. Teaching and learning are good in mathematics and basic numeracy skills are taught well. This has a positive effect on the standards pupils achieve because teachers make sure that they understand what they are required to do and staff make sound use of assessment, which is an improvement since the last inspection. Lessons are interesting because the staff use mathematical vocabulary successfully to challenge pupils’ thinking. Learning resources are used well to help pupils understand new ideas and teaching assistants work well to support and guide them. The use of computers has been improved since the last inspection to support learning across the curriculum.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

14. Teaching and learning are mainly satisfactory in most other subjects. It is sometimes excellent in music when lessons are taken by the specialist part-time teacher and as a result pupils do well. However, the teaching of science is inconsistent and unsatisfactory overall as it does not build effectively on pupils’ skills year-on-year and there is too much duplication of learning in lessons. This is because teachers do not plan sufficiently well enough to make sure that they increase pupils’ skills over time. In addition, the most capable pupils are not challenged or extended enough to do investigative work. This limits their achievement by forcing pupils to cover similar ground from year-to-year and neglecting the systematic teaching of skills and knowledge.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

15. Assessment procedures are generally satisfactory and the quality of teachers’ daily planning is sound in the infant and junior classes because it identifies learning intentions clearly. However, the two are not linked well enough. Although teachers assess pupils’ work effectively, the St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 11 information is not used consistently to help the most capable pupils to extend their learning, especially in science. Variable quality marking means that although some pupils are guided well by teachers’ written comments, others are not. Most pupils have homework regularly and this helps them to increase their skills at home with parents, but the setting of homework is inconsistent across the year groups. Nevertheless, a particular strength is the good deployment of teaching assistants, particularly in English and mathematics, because staff work together well to assess and guide pupils and know what they are expected to do.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

16. The management of pupils is sound. This helps to ensure that time is used well in lessons. Most teachers promote a classroom atmosphere that encourages hard work, as well as a good sense of enjoyment. Pupils who learn English as an additional language are helped by a support assistant who works hard to provide them with suitable learning materials. In the best lessons, staff motivate pupils well and make good use of praise to celebrate pupils’ successes. The co-ordinator for special educational needs gives good support and teaching assistants guide pupils well during lessons and withdrawal sessions, helping them to achieve the targets set out in their individual education plans. These plans are good; targets are clear and strategies to support pupils are realistic and practical. Teachers make good use of the assistants when they are timetabled to be with the class and the effective communication

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 44 lessons

between them helps to ensure that pupils achieve well.

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The curriculum

The overall quality of the curriculum is satisfactory and the range and quality of learning experiences provided for the children in the nursery and reception are satisfactory. The quality and range of accommodation and learning resources are satisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Literacy and numeracy are organised well. • Provision is good for pupils with special educational needs. • Curricular development has been limited in science due to the lack of a co-ordinator. • The curriculum for the Foundation Stage does not prepare children well enough academically for the next stage of learning.

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Commentary

17. Most of the shortcomings found during the previous inspection have been addressed, including the development of personal, social and health education. Curricular organisation for literacy and numeracy is now good and having a positive effect on the standards obtained by pupils. However, medium-term planning for science is unsatisfactory, as pupils are not given enough activities to help them build systematically on previously learned skills and there is too much duplication in lessons across year groups. In addition, the youngest children in the school do not receive a challenging enough curriculum to extend learning and stretch the most capable. These remain areas for improvement.

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Commentary

18. The school continues to give high priority to pupils with special educational needs and curricular provision for them is good. They are well supported by classroom assistants who work closely and effectively with class teachers. However, some teachers do not plan enough challenging activities for the most capable pupils to raise standards further in science.

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Commentary

19. The school is developing the curriculum to include children’s personal development through the day-to-day life of the school, through the school council and a specific programme for personal, social and health education and citizenship.

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Commentary

20. Teachers are beginning to plan to use computers to support pupils’ learning within certain subjects such as English, mathematics and geography. Although literacy and numeracy are taught indirectly through other subjects, this is incidental rather than planned and, as a result, St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 12 pupils sometimes miss out on opportunities to develop these skills, depending on an individual teacher’s approach. The overuse of photocopied worksheets in some subjects severely restricts opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills.

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Commentary

21. The school provides satisfactory opportunities to extend pupils’ knowledge and skills through clubs, visits and residential trips. These include local musical opportunities through the English National Orchestra and Year 6 arts project which links to the Lord Mayor’s Show. Homework clubs for Years 2, 5 and 6 help to support pupils’ learning. There are no inter- school sports fixtures and the lack of a sports field inhibits the school’s provision for physical education, although staff make as much use of the indoor halls as they can.

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Commentary

22. The accommodation and resources throughout the school are satisfactory. The school roof has been cleverly adapted for playground use for the older pupils and this helps to relieve the pressure on the external playground. Both play areas need enhancing to make them less austere and more interesting for pupils. The library is a good resource but requires attention to ensure it attracts pupils to use it.

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Care, guidance and support

Pupils receive satisfactory care, guidance and support, aided by good mutual relationships between teachers and learning support staff.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good relationships enable pupils to feel confident in gaining help from staff. • There are good arrangements for children starting school. • Pupils’ learning needs are not identified closely enough in science.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

23. Pupils receive satisfactory care, support and welfare. Pastoral, personal and academic needs are met effectively. Academic monitoring systems are satisfactory, but do not always identify the needs of different groups closely enough to secure rapid gains in learning, particularly for the more capable and talented pupils in science. Trained first-aiders give appropriate care when pupils are taken ill or have minor accidents. There is a satisfactory awareness of child protection practice, but the policy and staff training have not been updated to take account of the latest national developments of good practice.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

24. The good relationships within the school ensure that pupils can talk to adults easily if they need comfort or guidance. The staff listen carefully, doing their best to resolve any difficulties. Pupils benefit from individual informal personal guidance and effective formal ‘circle time’ discussions. These successfully raise confidence and provide pupils with a positive view of themselves and their achievements.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

25. Arrangements for children starting school are good. There is a well-established programme that includes home visits and pre-entry sessions. Once children start school, parents stay for the first 15 minutes, sharing mutually enjoyed play activities like counting, matching games or naming colours like pink and yellow, that help the children to settle into school routines easily. If children have more difficulty in letting a parent go, staff and parents work together to ensure a calm, happy hand-over. Pupils who arrive at other times of the year receive effective help from staff and soon make new friends.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school has a satisfactory partnership with its parents. Community links are satisfactory , with good input from City companies. Links with other schools and colleges are satisfactory . St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 13

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good links with city companies have a positive effect on learning. • Parents feel able to approach the school easily. • The school responded well to parental concerns about homework. • The prospectus and the governors’ annual report to parents do not meet requirements.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

26. Parents are welcomed into the school when they visit. A few offer regular help with pupils’ reading during times known as ‘The 15-Minute Reading Scheme’ and on trips, including Years 3 and 4 swimming and this provides effective support for learning. Other parents run the toy library regularly. However, the parents’ association closed, due to lack of parental interest, although the school is hopeful that with encouragement it will re-establish and parents will become more involved in school life. The home-school liaison worker is working towards this by encouraging more involvement from parents of children the nursery and reception classes.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

27. Overall, links with the community are satisfactory. However, links with city companies are good and a strength of the school. The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers provided finance to set up the computer suite and still provides ongoing funds and technical expertise. Members of the company visit regularly and also provide a school governor. Their generosity has had a significant impact on extending pupils’ computer skills. Pupils take part in the Lord Mayors’ Show and a city publishing firm donates books from time to time. The church also plays a significant part in school life and the vicar is a frequently welcomed visitor. Pupils give Harvest Festival gifts to local elderly residents and to the homeless.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

28. Parents maintain that staff are approachable and ready to listen to any concerns. Newsletters are friendly and informative, providing information about school events and the curriculum. There are regular formal and informal opportunities for parents to discuss pupil progress. However, statutory requirements are still not met to provide suitable information in the prospectus and governors’ annual report to parents on some aspects, such as the provision for special educational needs. This was an issue at the time of the last inspection that has not been rectified. Pupil reports are satisfactory overall; there is good information about individual pupils’ spelling and reading ages, although most do not have space for pupils to assess their own progress.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

29. The school has responded well to the previous report and parental concerns about homework. The homework policy is appropriate and homework clubs have been established, including one for Turkish speaking pupils. Parents have had opportunity to attend sessions on supporting home reading. Parents are appropriately informed about their children’s work topics. The homework set is satisfactory.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory overall . Governance is unsatisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The acting headteacher has worked hard to provide successful temporary leadership. • Governance of the school is unsatisfactory. • The school development plan does not provide sufficient focus for strategic improvement.

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Commentary

30. Due to the very recent resignation of the previous headteacher at the end of the summer term, the school is currently being led and managed satisfactorily by an acting headteacher, who was the deputy at the time of the last inspection. Since moving from the post of deputy to her St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 14 present temporary position, she has worked closely with members of the senior management team and provided clear direction for them. These key leaders are very realistic about the pace of improvement and they are aware of some of the barriers to be overcome.

p.15

Commentary

31. The school development plan is created by the whole staff who work together on it, spending a whole day considering all aspects of school improvement. However, although it is a useful working document in that it outlines developments in 11 major areas, it does not prioritise enough nor relate directly to driving up standards in writing or science. Neither does it focus on pushing up the achievement of the most capable pupils. In addition, the plan is not prefaced by any references to a mission statement or the school’s Anglican status and it contains only brief reviews of subjects with very few costings. Overall, the plan is unsatisfactory because it lacks strategic direction and is not linked rigorously to financial planning.

p.16

Commentary

32. There are sound procedures for the induction and support of new staff and the continuing professional development of established teachers. The school has received the ‘Investors in People’ award for its work and all of the teaching staff have curriculum responsibilities which they carry out appropriately. Many subject co-ordinators have a clear understanding of their role and are becoming effective, although the opportunities to monitor standards, teaching and learning are not firmly established due to the recent staff changes. The school’s policies and schemes of work are regularly updated and a few co-ordinators have provided valuable feedback to colleagues and ensured that resources in their subject areas are at least adequate. For example, the management of the Foundation Stage has been improved since the last inspection and is now satisfactory because the co-ordinator has worked hard to set up

p.16

Commentary

assessment systems. However, planning for these youngest children in the school does not focus enough yet on improving their knowledge, understanding and skills as a result of the assessments undertaken and this remains an area for improvement.

p.16

Commentary

33. The business of the governing body is carried out in a proper manner and finances are managed securely to give satisfactory value for money. However, only a few governors are actively involved in aspects of school life. Most are not clear enough about what needs to be done to improve standards nor do they act as critical friends or rigorously monitor the school’s provision. This lack of involvement weakens the governing body’s partnership with the school. A developing strength is the positive relationship between the senior management team, the chair of governors and the new vicar. Together, they hope to raise the profile of the school within the local and wider community and it is envisaged that they will working closely with the newly appointed headteacher who takes up her post in January 2004 for the benefit of all pupils and staff at the school.

p.16

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 929,673 Balance from previous year 38,513 Total expenditure 873,604 Balance carried forward to the next year 61,469

p.16

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

Expenditure per pupil 2,836 St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 15

p.16

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The provision for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall and the induction arrangements for new children are good. The nursery and reception classes are organised as a unit. However, there is insufficient distinction between the provision for nursery children and that provided for reception children. This is because teachers’ short-term planning does not take enough account of assessment information to guide learning into suitable, achievable steps and so raise standards and prepare children for the next stage of their education. The learning intentions for activities are not always specific enough to guide teaching. As a result, reception-aged children often spend too much of their time on free-choice activities without effective adult interaction to take their learning forward. Nevertheless, the teaching is satisfactory overall and so most children make reasonable progress. Parents are welcome into the unit on a daily basis and share an activity with

p.17

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

their children, staying until they are settled. This has resulted in good home-school communications.

p.17

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is satisfactory .

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Adults provide good role models, treating each other and the children courteously. • There is not enough curricular structure in play activities. • Children’s progress is often limited by a lack of intervention from adults.

p.17

Commentary

34. Children make reasonable progress. Most enter the nursery class with immature skills in personal and social development. They are helped to work and play together and many learn to share and take turns quickly. The adults provide good role models for the children and treat each other and the children with courtesy and respect. However, the lack of structure to play activities in both the nursery and reception classes sometimes results in children moving too rapidly from one activity to another. In the reception class there is an imbalance between the time given to free-choice activities and more formal times with the class teacher. Milk and fruit time is not used effectively as a class occasion to develop children’s social skills. These shortcomings limit the opportunities for children to develop their concentration spans and personal skills.

p.17

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is satisfactory overall.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff in the nursery give high priority to communication and language skills. • Standards are below the expected goals by the time children leave the reception class. • Interaction between the reception teacher and the children is too limited. • Planning does not indicate precisely how teachers will increase children’s language skills. • There is an imbalance between free-choice and teacher-led activities for the oldest children. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 16

p.17

Commentary

35. A high number of children learn English as their first language and a significant minority have language delay. Attainment in this area of learning on entry to the nursery is well below that expected. However, staff in the nursery give high priority to communication and language skills and converse appropriately with children to encourage knowledge, understanding and the use of new vocabulary. In the reception class, children enjoy drawing and tracing and most are still at the early stages of learning to read and write isolated letters. When practising handwriting, children are not always encouraged to sit at a table and this does not support good habits for writing. Child-centred initiatives are encouraged using the ‘graphics table’ at least once a week. However, the lack of bilingual support and good-quality interaction with individual children when drawing or ‘writing’ results in some not reaching their full potential. Role-play

p.18

Commentary

activities are available but adults do not always use these occasions effectively to be involved and so lose opportunities to promote spoken language skills and a wider range of vocabulary.

p.18

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is satisfactory .

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Opportunities are used well in the nursery to promote children’s recognition and understanding of number because the teaching is good. • Planning does not clearly indicate how reception-aged children will increase their skills.

p.18

Commentary

36. Children enter the nursery with few mathematical skills but they make good progress as a result of good teaching and effective use of opportunities to reinforce counting and number recognition. Many children need support to count objects accurately and staff ensure that every opportunity is taken to develop this skill. Children are already becoming familiar with two- dimensional shapes. No actual teaching was observed in this area of learning in the reception class but the class teacher was assessing small groups of children in the work done this term. It is apparent that children are at the early stages of ordering numbers, although most recognise numbers up to five and a few can count to ten. However, the children are not completely sure of what is meant by ‘ one more than’ or ‘one less than’ because there are too few planned opportunities for them to build systematically on their skills through a range of

p.18

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Many children enter the nursery with limited general knowledge and poor understanding of English, which makes it difficult for them to learn at first. Nevertheless, throughout the nursery and reception classes they begin to build on their understanding of the place in which they live and the people who help them. For example, in a topic about ‘Cleaning’, the nursery children become familiar with the equipment used by cleaners and the jobs of specific people around them. No specific lessons were seen in the reception class during the inspection and activities related to this area were incidental and of brief duration, therefore it is not possible to make a secure judgement on teaching. Sound support is given to children on how to make things move on a computer screen and develop their skills in using a mouse. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 17

p.18

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for physical development is satisfactory .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good opportunities for outdoor play. • Learning intentions are not always sufficiently clear.

p.19

Commentary

37. Outdoor activities are a strong feature of the curriculum and children make the most of the opportunities to develop their physical skills throughout the day. They climb and peddle or push with increasing control using a suitable range of equipment and play with balls, demonstrating sound progress in their development. Adults work with children appropriately to support them. However, learning intentions are not always explicit in the planning to show how staff will guide children’s learning. Nevertheless, most children handle small objects with reasonable dexterity and make sound progress in using pencils, scissors, paintbrushes and glue spreaders with success in both classes.

p.19

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision for creative development is satisfactory .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Plenty of opportunities are available for artistic activities. • Not enough intervention limits the development of communication skills through play.

p.19

Commentary

38. Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their creative skills through role-play and artistic activities. They enjoy using paint and collage materials. Teaching is satisfactory. In the role-play area, children particularly like playing in the ‘Café’ but poor language and social skills often lead to some children preferring to play silently alongside others rather than interact with them and adults do not intervene enough to help children develop their communication skills. Nevertheless, staff give suitable praise and attention to children when they make painted handprints, which helps to reinforce colour recognition and understanding of numbers up to five.

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The subject is led and managed well by the co-ordinator. • Teaching is sometimes very good, especially in Year 6. • Good evaluations of standards are helping staff to raise pupils’ achievement. • Limited use of literacy skills across the curriculum inhibits progress. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 18

p.19

Commentary

39. The knowledgeable and enthusiastic co-ordinator has a clear vision for the continued development of the subject. A significant improvement in the monitoring and evaluation of the subject has enabled teachers to identify areas for further development. This has led to a steady improvement in writing since the previous inspection, although standards still remain well below average in reading.

p.20

Commentary

40. Nevertheless, teaching is satisfactory overall and often good. It is sometimes very good, especially in Year 6 where there are excellent features; for example in the comprehensive planning, challenging pace and very clear expectations. More generally, learning is structured well and has good pace, although the final few minutes of lessons are not always used as productively as they might to encourage pupils to sum up what they have learned or develop speaking skills.

p.20

Commentary

41. Standards of listening are satisfactory and most pupils achieve well. Throughout the school they are given good opportunities to hear stories. For example, pupils in Year 1 listened intently to ‘ The Bear Who Wouldn’t Share’ and were able to answer questions concerning the personality of the character. However, the high proportion of pupils who learn English as an additional language has an adverse effect on standards because the confidence with which many pupils speak is below the national expectations. Nevertheless, teachers use good strategies such as ‘talk partners’ to raise pupils’ self-esteem and they expect them to explain aspects of their work to the rest of the class sometimes, although many in Year 6 struggle when speaking publicly.

p.20

Commentary

42. The school has worked hard at providing opportunities for the development of reading skills, although standards remain below the nationally expected level by the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6. Nevertheless, daily half-hour sessions for guided reading offer all pupils a variety of activities to help them improve their skills. Individuals are withdrawn for specialist help from teachers who use the ‘Reading Recovery’ scheme and this works well. These good features have been developed because teachers have received focused training in aspects of literacy in the school’s drive to raise standards and, as a result, a few of the most capable pupils now read well, with expression and good intonation.

p.20

Commentary

43. Overall, teachers provide a good range of activities to develop pupils’ writing skills and these help to increase learning, even though standards are still lower than expected nationally. Achievement tends to be better in short pieces of writing rather than more lengthy, extended examples of work. This is because pupils can concentrate well for short periods to give their best. For example, pupils in Years 4 and 5 produced attractively written work on ‘How to Play Hide and Seek’ that was of a high standard of presentation, very neatly written. However, progress is generally too slow in extended written work, especially amongst the older pupils.

p.20

Language and literacy across the curriculum

44. The National Literacy Strategy is used well throughout the school and is adapted suitably to support learning for pupils with special educational needs. Good use is made of the computer suite for literacy work, especially for pupils with learning difficulties and guided reading activities are managed well to provide them with variety in the acquisition of reading skills across different subjects. However, the overuse of worksheets in science, history and geography limit the development of pupils’ writing skills across the curriculum. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 19

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are good by the end of Year 6 and pupils achieve well. • Teaching is mainly good and sometimes very good. • Assessment is used well to support teaching and learning. • Insufficient opportunities are available for pupils to use computers in lessons and apply mathematical skills across the curriculum.

p.21

Commentary

45. Pupils achieve well overall. The vast majority of pupils in Year 1 can count in fives and tens to 100. They demonstrate good understanding of the sequence of number by their ability to continue a sequence from any specific number. These young pupils achieve well in reading and spelling number words to ten. This is good achievement since the beginning of the term when many pupils arrived from the Foundation Stage with standards below those expected. Good achievement is also evident in Year 2 pupils’ ability to calculate mentally ten or 20 more or less than a given number. In Years 3 to 6 pupils continue to make good progress in number work and their understanding of mathematical vocabulary. They are familiar with recording information by tallies or lists and successfully organise the results into charts and graphs. Most pupils listen attentively, volunteer responses readily and co-operate productively in small

p.21

Commentary

groups. They are keen to learn mathematics and enjoy the challenges set. Pupils have confidence to explain how they arrive at answers and ask questions to further their understanding.

p.21

Commentary

46. The quality of teaching is good, with some very good teaching in the lower and upper sets of Years 4, 5 and 6. Teachers make good use of the starting sessions to probe pupils’ understanding and help them to clarify their thinking by verbalising strategies. Continual use of mathematical vocabulary successfully promotes pupils’ use of it in their answers and clarifies understanding. The key factor to improving standards has been the organisation of the classes to ensure pupils are appropriately challenged according to their abilities. Teachers support this by sharing lesson intentions with pupils at the start of lessons and checking to see if they have been successful at the end of the session. Regular assessments are used well by teachers to assist planning.

p.21

Commentary

47. Staff work well together as a team and have been involved in the National Numeracy Strategy since the trial days. Although the co-ordinator has a clear overview of the arrangements for teaching the subject in the school she is not sufficiently involved in the analysis of pupils’ test results to help her develop the action plan to raise pupils’ standards particularly by the end of Year 2.

p.21

Mathematics across the curriculum

48. The basic skills of numeracy are well taught in all classes. Pupils’ use of mathematical skills in their work in other subjects is limited however and computers are not used consistently to increase pupils’ skills or extend learning. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 20

p.21

SCIENCE

Provision in science is unsatisfactory .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching is sometimes very good in year 6. Teaching is unsatisfactory overall because medium-term planning is weak and assessment information is not used consistently to track pupils’ progress. • Standards are well below the expected levels throughout the school. • An overemphasis of printed worksheets limits progress. • Leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory.

p.22

Commentary

49. Standards have declined since the last inspection. They are now well below the national expectations and achievement is unsatisfactory overall amongst most groups of pupils, many of whom are underachieving because they do not increase their knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts consistently as they move up the year groups. This is because the quality of teaching and learning varies considerably. Although teaching is very good in one Year 6 class, it is unsatisfactory overall throughout the school as it does not build effectively on pupils’ skills and there is too much duplication of learning in lessons. Most teachers do not plan well enough to make sure that they increase pupils’ skills over time and the more capable pupils are not challenged or extended fully. This limits their achievement by forcing them to cover similar ground from year-to-year, thus neglecting the systematic build-up of skills and

p.22

Commentary

50. Assessment information is not used effectively to assist teachers’ planning or help them judge accurately what pupils know and understand. However, when teachers communicate their enthusiasm well this has a positive effect on pupils’ learning. Most teachers have sound subject knowledge and give appropriate encouragement to groups and individuals. This was seen, for example, in a Year 2 lesson when pupils investigated plants and animals in the local environment. In all classes, teachers ensure good behaviour and this supports good learning and pupils’ interest in their work. However, in less effective lessons some pupils are not kept on task and therefore they tend to lose concentration. In most lessons, pupils show good levels of co-operation when working in groups. This was seen in a very good Year 6 lesson where the teacher had involved the pupils in an investigation about food chains. The excellent and highly

p.22

Commentary

skilful questioning and the excellent use of the strategy of getting pupils to turn to partners to discuss points enabled them to support each other very well and share their knowledge. Where support assistants are present they provide good guidance for pupils, particularly for those with special educational needs or who learn English as an additional language.

p.22

Commentary

51. Leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory, although a new co-ordinator has recently been appointed who is keen to develop the provision and her role. For some time, there has been insufficient monitoring, particularly of lessons, to ensure consistency in the teaching of science and associated skills across the school and within other subjects.

p.22

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Provision in information and communication technology is satisfactory .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Provision has been improved well since the last inspection. • The computer suite is a very good resource that is used particularly well by pupils with special educational needs. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 21 • Planning for the use of computers to aid learning across subjects is not rigorous. • Assessment procedures are unsatisfactory.

p.22

Commentary

52. Members of staff have undertaken additional training since the last inspection and more resources have been purchased. These initiatives have helped to maintain satisfactory standards and develop the sound quality of teaching and learning throughout the school, driven by effective management of the subject by the deputy headteacher. In addition, the curriculum has been revised and a technical assistant is employed to provide good additional part-time specialist support.

p.23

Commentary

53. Pupils achieve satisfactorily because teachers use the very good resources well in the computer suite where demonstrations can be made clearly visible, using a data projector. For example, some particularly good teaching was observed in a Year 6 lesson when the class were producing a multimedia presentation in connection with their work on ‘ The Greeks’ . Most pupils worked well independently to add sound, navigation buttons and animated graphics confidently to their slide sequences, whilst several with special educational needs had good access to a larger keyboard and close support from a teaching assistant to help them. More generally, the steps teachers take to help pupils are good. This was illustrated well during a lesson in Year 1 when pupils were organised effectively to work with each other as ‘computer- partners’ in the suite. As a result, the higher attaining pupils supported their less confident

p.23

Commentary

partners and the more fluent English speakers helped their classmates who had limited language skills.

p.23

Commentary

54. By the time pupils leave Year 2, they have had satisfactory experience with word processing and graphics software so that they can use computers confidently to tackle work in the junior classes. For example, in Years 3 and 4 they create graphics patterns for design and technology projects and in Year 5 they use programmable robots successfully to devise sequences of commands and emails to communicate with a school in Australia. Pupils in Year 6 employ simple formulae in spreadsheets, such as for organising the costs of a swimming trip. They illustrate data using different bar graphs and pie charts and access the Internet to help them research topics, such as ‘Mountain Ranges’ .

p.23

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

55. The use of computers across the curriculum is inconsistent and not rigorously monitored. In addition, classroom-based computers are underused and the procedures for assessing pupils’ skills are unsatisfactory. The school is aware of the necessity to use computers more effectively across the curriculum and this issue has been included as part of a development plan for the subject.

p.23

Geography

No lessons were observed in geography during the inspection, but pupils’ previous work and discussions with them and the subject co-ordinator indicate that by the end of Year 2 pupils have appropriate understanding of physical and human features of different places. They show sound knowledge of features of the capital city of London, in which they live and attractive and unattractive features of their immediate environment. By Year 6, pupils have clear knowledge and understanding of the world around them and beyond. They are able to name the continents, oceans and capital cities of the main countries of the world. Pupils are familiar with simple co-ordinates when using a map, the use of an atlas index and knowledge of latitudes and longitudes. A study of India has given them clear insight into the lives and activities of people living there and pupils are beginning to understand how physical and human features affect the lives of people. The residential visit to Devon

p.23

Geography

made a good impact on pupils’ understanding of living in different environments. The curriculum is St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 22 based on suitable published materials, although there is not enough guidance for medium-term planning to help teachers organise learning. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory and the recently appointed co-ordinator is keen and enthusiastic. However, there has been no specific recent training to effectively develop the role.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards have improved since the previous inspection. • Teaching is very good in Year 6. • Literacy and numeracy skills are not well reinforced especially when teaching is unsatisfactory in the junior classes.

p.24

Commentary

56. Standards match the national expectations by the end of Year 6, which is an improvement on the standards seen in the previous inspection. Pupils have studied life at various times in history and demonstrate secure knowledge of the different eras; for example, Boudicca’s revolt, characteristics of the Viking and Roman invasions, the Anglo-Saxon period and the Tudor and Victorian eras. Class visits to museums and the opportunity to dramatise events help to maintain pupils’ keen interest in the subject. However, a lack of English speaking and literacy skills limit pupils’ achievements, particularly amongst the youngest pupils in Year 1. Nevertheless, by the end of Year 2 pupils are familiar with the achievements of a suitable number of famous people and events. They are given appropriate opportunities to develop chronological skills.

p.24

Commentary

57. The quality of teaching is sound in most classes, although there are examples of both very good and unsatisfactory teaching in the junior classes. The very good teaching in Year 6 leads to very well organised lessons that enable pupils to research different aspects of topics, such as ‘Ancient Greece’ and present their findings to the rest of the class. Work is well matched to pupils’ abilities, yet challenging and high quality interaction between teacher and pupils ensures effective learning. In these lessons pupils achieve well, successfully building on their knowledge and understanding of the period. Where teaching is unsatisfactory, the learning intentions lack clarity, tasks are mundane and uninspiring and there is a lack of challenge in some mixed-age junior classes. Teachers’ use of unfamiliar vocabulary without first clarifying the meaning and the giving of too many facts, tends to confuse some pupils.

p.24

Commentary

58. Literacy and numeracy skills are not effectively reinforced because there is an over-reliance on worksheets in some classes. Limited use is made of computers to support work, although study units are supplemented and enhanced by existing resources and visitors to the school. Whilst the leadership and management of the subject has been effective in raising the profile of the subject and managing resources, there is little to help teachers plan for the progression of skills or aid progress from assessment information. The co-ordinator has had no release time to monitor teaching and learning to help raise standards and no courses have been made available to develop her expertise and role. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 23

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The subject is led and managed well. • Good displays and plenty of resources are good features of the provision. • The use of sketchbooks is weak.

p.25

Commentary

59. Standards match the national expectations and pupils achieve satisfactorily. Teachers plan for them to have experience of a wide range of topics that cover different media and techniques. For example, during the arts project in the summer term, pupils in Years 3 and 4 designed and made chairs and reclining figures from papier-maché. Photographic evidence of pupils’ work is particularly impressive and acts not only as a record of achievement, but as an exemplar for others to follow; for example, the framed pictures based on an aboriginal theme of ‘Journeys’ are of a good standard.

p.25

Commentary

60. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Class teachers give pupils an appropriate amount of stimulus before setting them off to complete work, such as creating templates as a forerunner to printing or producing a still life drawing. Other topics have included drawing skills, printing, working with clay and painting skills. However, the use of sketchbooks is too limited and computers are not used well in classrooms to help pupils increase their skills, although an art week is planned to link up with the use of information and communication technology.

p.25

Commentary

61. Leadership and management are good. The co-ordinator has strong subject knowledge, is well established in her role and has a well-organised set of files, showing plenty of evidence of pupils’ work. She monitors provision and standards carefully and acts as a consultant by leading all in-service training sessions with the staff. Appropriate areas for improvement have been identified to include the development of assessment procedures and the monitoring of teaching and learning in lessons.

p.25

Design and technology

62. Due to the schools’ timetable arrangements it was not possible to form overall judgements about the effectiveness of provision in design and technology. From the scrutiny of work and discussion with teachers and pupils, standards are broadly in line with those expected by the end of Year 6. Pupils are currently designing and building shelters from a variety of materials and these show that the detail and quality of design are satisfactory. Standards have improved since the last inspection especially in the infant classes where they were previously judged to be poor. In the work seen, pupils’ achievements are satisfactory and they make sound progress over time. A balanced curriculum is taught which covers all aspects of the subject.

p.25

Design and technology

63. During the week of the inspection, design and technology was only being taught in Year 6 and not at a time when teaching could be observed. Effective in-service training, often led by outside independent trainers, enhances the scheme of work. This has developed teachers’ confidence. The co-ordinator’s subject knowledge is good, although no monitoring of lessons takes place due to a lack of release time. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 24

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The subject is led and managed well. • Teaching is occasionally excellent and there are plenty of resources for learning. • Aspects of listening and applying music are not well developed.

p.26

Commentary

64. Standards are higher than those expected for pupils’ age, and achievement is good. Pupils enjoy music-making activities because teachers manage their classes well so that pupils work and listen in a calm environment. The school concentrates well on singing and puts on shows throughout the year in which the pupils sing with gusto and liveliness. They change dynamics confidently between verse and chorus and keep to the beat and rhythm. Although some listening and applying of the knowledge and understanding of music was observed, this aspect is not fully developed however, although the very good resources are used well to extend learning and all pupils are included in activities.

p.26

Commentary

65. The co-ordinator is a specialist teacher of music and is employed for one day per week to teach the subject. She has excellent subject knowledge and her enthusiasm, coupled with her ability both as a musician and as a teacher, makes her an asset to the school. The scheme of work is supplemented well because the co-ordinator teaches all the music in the junior classes and singing in the infants. She monitors provision and standards in the subject throughout the school and there is a secure assessment system in place. The subject is held in high esteem in the school and an inter-cultural emphasis is developed effectively by involving pupils in a wide variety of enrichment experiences.

p.26

An example of outstanding practice in music

The teacher had already set up the hall with a wide range of musical instruments arranged inside a large circle. A soon as the pupils arrived, she immediately asked them to walk in time to the pulse that she tapped out with wooden claves. She developed this into four- and eight-beat sequences, for pupils to repeat promptly. All were totally focused on the lesson so that when a new song was introduced they listened enraptured as the teacher sang and tapped the rhythm for them to echo. As a complicated sequence of rhythms began to emerge, a few pupils with special educational needs hurried along from other lessons to join in enthusiastically with the class activities. The teacher’s wonderful rapport with the class led to excellent and swift inclusion of all and pupils’ exemplary attention and behaviour was maintained as the lesson progressed. The whole class sang sweetly in tune to echo the teacher’s modelling of pentatonic scales as she used her voice and hand signals to

p.26

An example of outstanding practice in music

guide them. This excellent teaching captivated the pupils, as learning moved on rapidly to include practise of an African chant, first sung in unison and then in parts. Pupils performed ‘call and response’ solo phrases with immense confidence, singing and echoing the words of the song until the teacher invited them to go to an instrument within the circle and play. She developed learning even further by getting pupils to use actions, voices, tuned and untuned percussion and by encouraging them all to have a turn with different instruments as she sang the melody in a hauntingly beautiful soprano voice. Together, they produced a stunning musical effect!

p.26

Physical education

66. Physical education was not a major focus of the inspection and only two lessons were observed during the inspection. It is therefore not possible to make a judgement on the quality of teaching and learning overall, although standards varied across the school. They were satisfactory in Year 3 but too low in Year 5 and progress is adversely affected by unsatisfactory behaviour at times. The school makes sound use of its resources and limited outdoor space, St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 25 including the rooftop playground. It organises swimming for pupils in Years 3 and 4 throughout the year and the temporary management of the subject is being carried out satisfactorily by the acting headteacher.

p.26

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

67. This area was not a major focus of the inspection and it is therefore not possible to make a judgement on the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning overall. The school is extending its provision to increase pupils’ personal development through daily activities and participation in the school council, as well as through a specific programme. Social responsibility is encouraged well when older pupils share stories with the youngest and during residential visits to Kent and a farm in Devon. St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 26

p.27

The overall effectiveness of the school 4

How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 4 Value for money provided by the school 4

p.28

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 4

Attendance 5 Attitudes 4 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 4 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 4

p.28

The quality of education provided by the school 4

The quality of teaching 4 How well pupils learn 4 The quality of assessment 4 How well the curriculum meets pupils’ needs 4 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 4 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 4 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 4 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 4 The quality of the school’s links with the community 4 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 4

p.28

The leadership and management of the school 4

The governance of the school 5 The leadership of the headteacher 4 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 4

p.28

The leadership and management of the school 4

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7). St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School - 27

p.28