St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School

Inspection Report St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar

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107739 Unique Reference Number Kirklees LEA 277827 Inspection number 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 Inspection dates Mr Adrian Simm CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Fieldhead (off Leymoor Road) School address Primary Type of school Golcar Voluntary aided School category Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD7 4QQ 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01484 222212 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01484 222212 Fax number 245 Number on roll Revd Crompton Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs K Benford Headteacher 5 April 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277827 19 September 2005 - 4 to 11 20 September 2005 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is popular and over-subscribed. It is set in a residential area of mainly white British families. It is a stable community with few families moving in or out of the area. A very small percentage of families do not speak English at home. The attainment of pupils on entry is around national expectations. Increasingly, parents of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are opting to send their children to the school. A growing number of pupils with autistic tendencies now attend. The school is involved in a number of initiatives to ensure high standards such as the Department for Education and Skills Primary Learning Network and the Primary National Strategy Sustaining Success.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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Grade: 2

The leadership team and governors accurately evaluate the school as good. It has a strong history of achieving high standards and good personal development within a caring, Christian, family-orientated school community. This matches the view of parents and pupils. During the inspection, parents praised pupils for 'showing loyalty, friendliness and compassion for others' and applauded the way staff value diversity and individuality. The school has made good progress since the last inspection. It is forward-looking and open to new initiatives for improving pupils' standards and personal development. Standards in the Foundation Stage are good and accommodation, resources and management are real strengths. In three of the last four years, pupils' standards were significantly higher than national expectations. Overall, pupils progress well throughout the school because of good teaching and learning, but standards and progress in information and communication technology

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Grade: 2

(ICT) could still be stronger. The school is well led and managed and has the building blocks in place to improve even more effectively. The progress the school has made in a short time in developing ways of identifying pupils who are meeting, exceeding or falling short of expectations, is outstanding. However, monitoring the quality of teaching and learning just as rigorously has not yet been put in place to the same extent. The school has the enthusiasm, skills and vision to succeed and gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve pupils' progress in ICT by ensuring resources and staff training are focused on pupils' skills in the strands of 'control, monitoring and finding things out'. • Use the wealth of data that is available in school about pupils' standards and progress for each class, to focus rigorously on how to achieve a consistently high quality of teaching throughout the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' progress is good throughout the school and starts the moment they enter the reception class. Standards by Year 2 improved considerably in the last 12 months and are generally above average. This was as a result of a concerted and successful effort to improve the quality of teaching and learning with pupils in Years 1 and 2. Pupils' standards by Year 6 in 2005 were close to average but lower than in previous years. This was mainly because of the high number of pupils in the class with learning difficulties. However, pupils still progressed well relative to their previous levels. Current Year 6 pupils are on track to meet the challenging targets set for them indicating a return to the strengths in standards in English, mathematics and science over the previous three years. Whilst they have also improved since the last inspection, standards and progress in ICT could be stronger still, particularly in the strands of 'control,

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Grade: 2

monitoring and finding things out'. 2 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 Pupils with learning difficulties progress well. Pupils whose first language is not English and the very small number of pupils with a range of different cultural backgrounds progress equally as well as others. The school ensures that boys and girls and those of different abilities do equally as well.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. They make good progress in developing independence and responsibility, and taking initiative. Their enthusiasm, for example, in organising and benefiting from 'the fruit shop', eating healthy lunches and enjoying a very wide range of physical education activities is praiseworthy. By the time they reach Year 6, pupils are mature responsible individuals, well able to work together harmoniously. Parents are very supportive of the school's values and this in turn has a positive effect on pupils' attitudes to school. The consistently high levels of attendance reflect this. The school council enables pupils to learn about democratic decision taking and contribute to school improvement. Pupils commented on how their ideas of introducing play equipment at playtimes led to improved behaviour and more purposeful play.

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Grade: 2

Pupils do not consider bullying to be an issue and express confidence in adults in school to quickly sort out any problems should they arise. They feel safe in school because they say everyone is here to look after them. Pupils speak highly of the Year 6 'Befrienders' who sort out minor conflicts should they arise. Pupils are polite and friendly, in part due to the good role models set by staff. This results in positive relationships, which, in turn, create an environment where pupils are prepared to have a go and try their best. For example, in the Green class the agreed target of 'Great Greens get better everyday' is already spurring them into improving their writing.

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Grade: 2

Overall, teaching and learning are good and stem from effective ways of assessing pupils' work. One of the strengths is how carefully most teachers ensure that pupils understand exactly what they should learn, how they can do this and check with them their levels of success both during and at the end of lessons. However, monitoring of teaching and taking action, particularly in sharing good practice, is not rigorous enough to ensure consistency across all classes. Setting targets for individual pupils to achieve is good and strengthening. All pupils, such as those with learning difficulties or higher attaining pupils, receive the effective support they deserve in lessons, in specially arranged booster groups and in focused support for those with learning difficulties. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is a particular strength; teachers organise a wide 3 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to

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Grade: 2

20 September 2005 range of experiences for children, all of which encourage their achievement and personal development. Pupils enjoy their learning and want to do well. This was very obvious in an outstanding Year 6 mathematics lesson, where children's excitement was tangible when they discovered easy methods of multiplication by doubling and halving. Staff strive very hard and are generally effective in overcoming the drawbacks of the small size of classrooms for the number of pupils on roll resulting from the school being so popular and oversubscribed. In the current Year 3 and 5 classes, pupils' personal development in particular, is cramped due to high numbers in classrooms originally designed for far fewer children.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well matched to the needs of children of all abilities. The school's practice in helping pupils to adopt approaches to healthy living is outstanding in lessons, at break times, and in the good range of after school clubs. Work in classrooms is enriched with additional opportunities to take part in educational visits, for example, in pupils' work with local councillors to increase their understanding of local democratic processes. The school strives continuously towards excellence and enjoyment for the pupils in everything they do. Developing pupils' thinking skills, linking learning through different subjects and promoting active learning are current targets. This is preparing pupils well for the future. The school is careful to ensure that all children are involved. The Reception class curriculum is well planned across all areas of learning. The school has worked successfully in ensuring continuity in planning between the Reception class and Year

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Grade: 2

1. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is good and there is clear and early identification of their precise needs and quick action to address these. Effective liaison with external agencies produces a strong team approach. This is working well, as is the developing support for gifted and talented pupils such as the mathematics 'master classes' for pupils in Year 5.

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Grade: 2

A strong ethos of care pervades all aspects of school life. Staff are sympathetic to the needs of all pupils regardless of ability, gender or ethnic background. Good behaviour is promoted effectively and pupils are made aware of how to deal with bullying should it arise. Child protection and health and safety routines are in place and known by all staff apart from those recently appointed, whose training is taking place shortly. Staff want all pupils to succeed in their work and to be safe and content. Systems to track pupils' progress are good and developing at a pace. Induction procedures for children in the Reception class are good and welcomed by parents. There are good systems also to support pupils joining the school later on. 4 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher's enthusiasm is infectious. A strong senior team has a real commitment to raising the achievement of all pupils and to promoting pupils' personal development and embracing their different home backgrounds. Governors ensure that the school is well resourced. This has had effective impact on provision and achievement, for example in ICT. They are involved well in school life but minutes of meetings of their sub-committees are not always kept. This means that, for example, whilst pupils are well cared for and safe, the governors' role in this is not as clear as it should be Self-evaluation is comprehensive, honest and generally accurate. Steps to improve the school take parents and pupils' views seriously into account. The only differences between the school's evaluation and that of inspectors were in the judgements on pupils' personal development and progress in improvement since the last inspection.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors judged these two areas to be good rather than outstanding, partly because the overcrowding in some classrooms and other areas of the school restrict opportunities for independent learning, small group sessions and practical work. Also, whilst ICT has improved well since the last inspection, pupils are still not quite achieving as well as they could be. Good monitoring systems have identified areas where improvements can be made in the school's drive to ensure consistently high quality teaching for all pupils. Very detailed information is increasingly becoming available to show more precisely which pupils are on line, behind or ahead in meeting targets set for them. This has yet to be taken fully into account in checking out the quality of teaching and learning. 5 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, Golcar, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, three inspectors visited your school recently to find out how well your teachers are helping you with your learning. Thank you for being so friendly and willing to talk to us. It was really useful to listen to what you had to say about what you enjoy doing. One of you told an inspector that you 'always try your best and know that if you make mistakes, it doesn't matter because your teacher will help you'. You are absolutely right. Also, thank you to those of you who explained so clearly how your 'Befriender' system works. We could tell that you are really proud of your school. Well done. The things we think are really good about your school are: - The impressive start you are given to school life in the Reception class. - The way your headteacher and other grown ups look after all of you and help you to work hard and do well. - Those of you who need an extra bit of help in your work and relationships always have someone

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to turn to. - How well you all look out for each other and want to be helpful in everything you do. We have asked your teachers to improve a couple of things to make your school even better. These are: - To help you learn even more about how to use your computers and other ICT equipment. This should really be fun!! I know you will do your best to help your teachers with this. - For your headteacher and staff to check very carefully just how well you are doing so they can make sure that all the teaching helps you to do even better. We hope you carry on enjoying school.

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