St James CofE Primary School

Inspection Report St James CofE Primary School

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125163 Unique Reference Number Surrey LEA LEA 281902 Inspection number 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006 Inspection dates Lynn Bappa AI Reporting inspector

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

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Grotto Road School address Primary Type of school Weybridge Voluntary controlled School category KT13 8PL 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01932 851762 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01932 852979 Fax number 383 Number on roll Ms Christine Best Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Rachel Workman Headteacher 2 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281902 16 January 2006 - 4 to 11 17 January 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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

St James Church of England Primary is a larger-than-average school. Learners come from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. There are high levels of pupil mobility especially in Year 3 and above. About 80% of pupils come from White British backgrounds with most other pupils coming from other White backgrounds. The proportion of minority ethnic pupils is above average. 11 pupils are currently at the early stages of learning English and languages spoken in the school include Japanese, Polish and Portuguese. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St James CofE Primary School, 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006

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Grade: 3

The school judges itself to be satisfactory overall, and inspectors agree. It provides sound value for money. Although leadership and management are satisfactory more remains to be done to bring consistency to important areas such as assessment and monitoring. There is a clear drive towards improvement. Issues raised at the last inspection have been tackled satisfactorily. The school has identified much of what it needs to do next and has sound capacity to improve. Pupils' personal development is good overall and pupils behave very well in lessons and around the school. The curriculum is good and provides pupils with a wide range of interesting activities.As a result of recent initiatives achievement and progress are now satisfactory in English and mathematics but standards in writing are not high enough. The school makes satisfactory provision for children in the Foundation Stage. They make satisfactory

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Grade: 3

progress overall and good gains in their personal, social and emotional development. Teaching and learning are satisfactory but the school does not make sufficiently rigorous use of assessment to track pupils' progress, and marking is inconsistent. Assessment procedures are cumbersome and do not pinpoint what teachers need to plan to make sure that learning is as effective as it should be. The teaching of writing has begun to improve, although some teachers do not always expect enough of pupils and do not always know enough about the full range of improvement strategies being used in other parts of the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Improve standards of writing throughout the school* Improve teaching by sharing good practice, raising expectations of learners and making better use of marking to show pupils how to improve* Improve the consistency and effectiveness of assessment in order to track and accelerate pupils' progress.

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Grade: 3

Standards in English, mathematics and science were broadly average in the 2005 tests at the end of Year 6. Trends over time in national test results, however, show that attainment varies from year to year, particularly in English. This is partly due to the large influx of pupils at points other than the normal time of admission and accounts for some uneven progress. Most recent arrivals to this country initially struggle to cope with some aspects of English and this has a knock on effect on the school's overall performance in national tests. Following a dip in 2005, when the test results showed that pupils were not making enough progress relative to their starting points, inspection evidence shows that standards have begun to rise steadily. Achievement is now satisfactory for all groups of pupils. Writing, however, continues to be a matter of concern although the school is beginning to tackle this problem and has already had

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Grade: 3

some success in raising standards. Exercise books seen during the inspection show that pupils' skills in writing are getting better. Children in Reception make satisfactory 2 Inspection Report: St James CofE Primary School, 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006 progress and reach appropriate standards for their age by the time they start in Year 1. Support provided for pupils with learning difficulties, and those for whom English is an additional language, enables them to gain the basic skills for learning and to access the full curriculum. Their achievement is in line with their classmates. Higher attaining pupils make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy coming to school. This is reflected in their very good behaviour, enthusiasm for learning and satisfactory attendance. Parents overwhelmingly agree that pupils feel valued. Pupils respect adults and each other. There are good relationships throughout, and the school is justifiably proud of the harmonious and cheerful atmosphere that helps pupils to concentrate on their learning.Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and recognise the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise. They make a good contribution to the school community through the school council. This successfully helps them to develop skills of co-operation and teamwork. Pupils' personal development is further enhanced by charity fund-raising from which they gain an understanding of economic well being. Visits to places such as a nearby special school and a local old folks' home enhance their understanding of

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Grade: 2

'community'. These varied experiences contribute well to the extension of pupils' knowledge and understanding and helps prepare them well for the future.Pupils make sense of their own community and the wider world as a result of good, and sometimes excellent, provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. There is a strong Christian ethos in the school. Pupils enjoy assemblies and benefit from good opportunities to reflect and pray. They express concern for the needs of others and show a good understanding of what it means to live in multicultural Britain. They spoke with enormous enthusiasm, for example, about the recent 'Globetrotters' Week and were very keen to show inspectors their world map where photos of pupils were matched to their countries of origin.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall and some good lessons were observed. Teachers create positive relationships and a caring environment in lessons. Consequently pupils feel secure, want to participate and are able to concentrate on their learning. In most lessons, teachers ask good questions that give pupils the chance to explain and develop their answers. Some teachers make good use of lesson objectives, refer to these throughout the lessons and reinforce them towards the end of lessons. In these lessons pupils know what they are expected to learn and why. Sometimes this does not happen and pupils are not entirely clear about what to do next. Although some marking is helpful, written comments do not consistently show pupils what they have done well and what they need to do to improve. Teachers use a good range of 3 Inspection Report: St James CofE Primary School, 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006

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Grade: 3

resources to motivate and engage pupils although they do not make good enough use of their interactive white boards. Staff are beginning to tackle weaknesses in the teaching of writing. Initiatives such as small writing groups are having a positive impact on standards. However, some teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve because they do not use assessment effectively. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities benefit from the good support of adults. In the Foundation Stage teachers develop children's social skills well so that children develop a good understanding of classroom routines.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and provides a rich and interesting range of activities. There is satisfactory provision for the development of basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy. Themed programmes of work, such as Engineering Week, give good opportunities for parental involvement. Provision for the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and enables children to make good progress in their personal and social skills and satisfactory progress in the other areas of learning. The school provides a good programme to support pupils' personal, social and emotional development. Good support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and those with English as an additional language enables them to participate fully in school life. The school provides a good range of extra curricular and enrichment activities that encourages pupils' sporting, musical and creative interests. Regular visits, including a residential

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Grade: 2

trip in Year 6, provide first hand learning experiences and promote pupils' social development.

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Grade: 3

The school makes good provision for pupils' well-being and works successfully to build good relationships with parents. Every pupil is known and treated as an individual. One parent wrote 'although St James is a church school it has a very inclusive attitude and welcomes people from all cultures and backgrounds.' Pupils were the first to tell inspectors that they are well cared for, although occasionally there are delays in dealing with some personal problems. Children settle quickly into Reception because of the warm welcome they receive.The school has good arrangements for safeguarding pupils. Staff have a secure grasp of child protection procedures. The schools works well with outside agencies and has good systems in place to ensure the health and safety of the pupils. The school carries out regular assessments that give indicators of pupils' progress. However, weaknesses in recording do not enable teachers to easily identify

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Grade: 3

pupils or groups of pupils who are not doing as well as they should. 4 Inspection Report: St James CofE Primary School, 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has won the confidence of parents and the school is now over-subscribed. Parents, staff and pupils value the calm ethos of the school. There is a strong commitment towards the inclusion of all learners. New children are warmly welcomed to the school and the impact of this is seen in their growing sense of security and well being.School leaders, including the recently re-organised senior leadership and subject teams, are now effectively focused on raising standards and eliminating underachievement. The recent and successful drive to raise standards in English provides a clear indication of the school's satisfactory capacity to improve. Although there is a regular programme of monitoring teaching it is not effective enough and inconsistencies in teaching have not been ironed out. As a result there is some uneven progress especially in relation to writing. The school

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Grade: 3

runs smoothly and there are clear and well understood daily routines. Self-evaluation and strategic planning are satisfactory and the school has correctly identified priorities for improvement. However, there is insufficient rigour in recording and using assessment data to track pupils' progress. The governors are very supportive of the school and their role in monitoring and challenging the school is developing as they improve their understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. There is an appropriate training programme for new governors. 5 Inspection Report: St James CofE Primary School, 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006 .

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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 James CofE Primary School, 16 January 2006 to 17 January 2006

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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 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 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 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 3 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 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

Thank you for the very friendly way in which you welcomed us to your school and showed an interest in what we were doing. We enjoyed talking with you during our visit, and this letter is to tell you some of the things we found. We think your school is giving you a satisfactory education. It was good to see that you work hard and want to do well. You have lots of interesting things to do in lessons, at lunch time and after school. We think that you get on well with each other and with your teachers. You appreciate the good things about your school and have many ideas about how to make it better. We agree with you that there are lots of interesting things to look at on the walls and especially liked your world map and the display on China. We particularly liked your singing in assembly, the ways in which older pupils behave around the school and how the younger children settle down quickly to their activities. Although your work is getting

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

better there is still room for improvement. You need to work harder on writing and on making your work neater. We have asked your headteacher and the governors to keep a closer check on how well you are learning so that all of you make as much progress as you can in all your lessons. Mr Thrussell, Mr Pye and I hope that you will continue to do your best and wish you every success in the future.

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