St John's Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge

126429 Unique Reference Number Wiltshire LEA 282111 Inspection number 28 February 2006 to 1 March 2006 Inspection dates Faysal Mikdadi AI Reporting inspector

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

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Wingfield Road School address Primary Type of school Trowbridge Voluntary aided School category Wiltshire BA14 9EA 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01225 752006 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01225 769606 Fax number 311 Number on roll Canon L O'Driscoll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Kim Parnell Headteacher 27 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282111 28 February 2006 - 4 to 11 1 March 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

Pupils come from a wide geographical area, reflecting parental choice for a Catholic education. There are a few pupils who speak English as an additional language. Almost all pupils are White British. The school has been through a period of instability chiefly related to changes in leadership and management over the last four years. Since the last inspection the school has had four headteachers, including an acting headteacher for two terms and the current headteacher, who has been in post since September 2005.

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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 Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge, 28 February 2006 to 1 March 2006

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Grade: 4

In accordance with Section 13(3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a Notice to Improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to enhancing progress further, raising standards, improving curriculum planning and tackling barriers to effective teaching. Inspectors agree with the school’s judgement that St John’s is not currently providing an effective education and is therefore not providing value for money. Unsatisfactory leadership and management over the last four years have led to a decline in standards and the quality of teaching. Although test results are close to the average, pupils could be doing better. Until recently, there has been limited progress in tackling the issues

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Grade: 4

from the last inspection. Through effective leadership the new headteacher has made many improvements in a short time. She now ensures rigorous checks are made on the quality of teaching which, despite improvements, remains unsatisfactory. With senior staff she has established a good learning environment so that pupils are settled, enjoy their work and are achieving better. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is now satisfactory. These changes show that the school has the capacity to sustain further improvement. Pupils are courteous and pleasant and their behaviour is now good and often better. The new headteacher has enhanced learning through improving the quality of care, guidance and support. As a result, the pupils are more involved in their learning and school activities. For example, they take responsibility in a variety of ways, such as being representatives on the school council and by participating in the ‘buddy’ system.

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Grade: 4

However, the curriculum is unsatisfactory because it does not provide sufficient variety to match the differing needs of each individual pupil.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that all teachers make better use of information about pupils’ progress to plan lessons and set challenging targets for pupils in order to improve their achievement. • Improve curriculum planning in order to ensure that tasks set are sufficiently varied so that they match the pupils’ varying abilities.

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Grade: 4

Pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory. Although standards are average, pupils have not been making enough progress in their work. Pupils in the Foundation Stage start school with skills and knowledge which are average for their age and by the time that they enter Year 1 the majority in one class have reached the goals they need to start the National Curriculum. However, this is not the situation for the other class, although 2 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge, 28 February 2006 to 1 March 2006 their standards are starting to improve. As a result of improved teaching, pupils in Years 1 to 6 have made sound progress in the current academic year. By Year 2 pupils reached standards slightly above average in the last national tests. Year 6 pupils in particular are now in a better position to reach the challenging targets set for them, but the school rightly recognises that there is still much to do to accelerate the progress

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Grade: 4

that pupils make. The progress of pupils with English as an additional language is sound. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are currently making satisfactory progress because teaching is ensuring that their needs are met, although, as for all pupils in the school, curricular provision does not always match their varying abilities. Music is a particular strength of the school and pupils achieve well, particularly in singing.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are satisfactory. Pupils’ moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils are valued as individuals, encouraged to reflect on important questions and nurtured within a strongly Catholic ethos. As a result, their spiritual development is very good. Pupils have a good sense of right and wrong and their behaviour is good and sometimes very good. On special occasions such as assemblies, behaviour is outstanding. Most pupils enjoy coming to school and attendance is good. However, they say that they do not enjoy lessons that are not interesting. The school provides a wide range of opportunities for them to take on responsibilities and pupils take on jobs willingly. Some older pupils run lunchtime activities for younger pupils. Pupils’ contribution to the wider community is good. They have good knowledge of their own faith, although not of other world faiths. The older pupils know about healthy

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Grade: 3

diets. They also know about other important health choices appropriate for their age. The younger children are less well informed and consequently they do not have sufficient knowledge about the need for healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. Pupils are encouraged to be active in physical education and through a range of physical activities provided by the school. Progress made in learning basic skills to ensure pupils’ future economic well-being is satisfactory.

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Grade: 4

Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory and have resulted in pupils failing to make enough progress. Teachers have not had a clear view about pupils’ previous attainment so they have not been able to plan effective lessons and set precise targets for pupils’ performance. This is beginning to change, although the overall picture is still mixed. In many classrooms improvement is rapid and the impact of recent initiatives is beginning to improve pupils’ achievement. In the Foundation Stage, although standards 3 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge, 28 February 2006 to 1 March 2006 for some pupils are still below average, most are making satisfactory progress because of improvements in teaching but the impact is not yet fully apparent. Across the school, the better lessons are well planned; have a clear focus and tasks are well matched to pupils’ abilities. In these classrooms pupils know what the lesson is about and have

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Grade: 4

suitable targets to work towards. However, a few teachers are not improving their effectiveness and not meeting the standards now expected by the school. The effort to improve the quality of teaching is further complicated by the high rate of staff absence, which also affects pupils’ learning. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning by helping them achieve success. Consequently, pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities now make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 4

The curriculum is unsatisfactory because the work planned does not cater sufficiently for the needs of different groups of pupils. Older pupils find that they repeat work in mathematics when they are in the same class for two years running. However, things are improving. For example, in science, the school now ensures that pupils cover the requirements whilst not repeating topics unnecessarily. In most classes pupils now have good opportunities to use computers but in a few classes these are still too limited. The school successfully enables individuals to be withdrawn for additional help and adapts the curriculum satisfactorily to meet the needs of pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities. Across the school the curriculum is not sufficiently modified to make sure the different groups of pupils in each class make consistent progress in each year. The school benefits from specialist teaching in music and this is leading to

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Grade: 4

good standards in music, particularly in singing. The school organises a good range of extra-curricular clubs to support the physical education curriculum and there is a satisfactory range of clubs to enhance learning in other subjects.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Good care is provided for individual pupils. Pupils are known well to all staff and everyone is committed to making sure pupils feel safe and secure in school. The school takes care to make sure pupils know how to keep safe and healthy. There are good arrangements for child protection. In the main, satisfactory guidance and support help pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities to make sound progress, although there is not enough support for pupils in Years 1 and 2. Assessment practices are now more consistent across the school and satisfactory. As a result, teachers are able to set realistic but challenging targets for improvement. The school does not have a system whereby the senior management team can see how well individual pupils are doing at a glance, to identify whether they make the progress that they should. 4 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge, 28 February 2006 to 1 March 2006

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Grade: 3

Unsatisfactory leadership and management over the last few years have led to deterioration in teaching and pupils’ achievement. The school does not currently provide value for money. Since her arrival in September 2005, the new headteacher’s good leadership has brought about improvements in teaching, learning, assessment, monitoring and evaluating, although weaknesses still remain in these areas. These improvements have begun to show through in the pupils’ progress. For example, pupils in Year 6 are now likely to achieve the targets set for them. Improved provision for pupils with learning difficulties now means they are making satisfactory progress. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate. The headteacher presents a convincing argument of what needs to be done in order to make further improvements. A capable deputy and senior staff effectively support her. Governors have worked closely with staff in recent times to enable improvements in

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Grade: 3

behaviour and in the overall atmosphere for learning in the school. The support given by the local authority is helping to maintain improvements. Parents’ views of the school are positive. They judge the work being done by the new headteacher particularly highly. They are fully supportive of her and her colleagues’ work. Judging by the improvements made since last September and the clear plans now laid out for future development, the headteacher, senior team and governors have the capacity to improve the school further. 5 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge, 28 February 2006 to 1 March 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 John's Catholic Primary School, Trowbridge, 28 February 2006 to 1 March 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 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 4 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 No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 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 2 The attendance of learners NA 3 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 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 4 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 4 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 very much for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school recently. We really enjoyed the Ash Wednesday assembly. Your singing was lovely. I am writing to tell you what we think of your school. There are several things about your school which are good: You behave well around the school and in the classrooms. Since the arrival of the new headteacher in September 2005, there have been a lot of improvements in the school. The adults look after you well. You have many opportunities to take on responsibilities and to join in activities. You told us that you liked your school. You also said that a lot of things have improved since the new headteacher arrived. We agree with you. You also told us that occasionally you found some lessons boring. We have suggested that the school should improve more by doing the following: Make sure that you are always taught in a way that helps you to do better in your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Make sure that your teachers tell you exactly what you need to do in order to improve further and that they plan their lessons in a way that allows you to improve your work even more. Once again, thank you for all your help. We wish you the very best at your school.

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