St John Evangelist Catholic Primary School

St John Evangelist RC Primary School Inspection report

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100438 Unique Reference Number Islington Local Authority 285792 Inspection number 27 April 2007 Inspection date Sue Vale Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 302 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Patricia Meerstadt Chair Mrs Tina Oliva Headteacher 12 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection Duncan Street School address Islington High Street London N1 8BL

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020 7226 1314 Telephone number 020 7226 5563 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 27 April 2007 Inspection date 285792 Inspection number .

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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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

St John the Evangelist RC Primary School caters for pupils from age 3-11. It is situated in the London Borough of Islington in a culturally diverse community. Increasing numbers of pupils, now nearly half, are learning English as an additional language. The main language other than English spoken is Spanish Columbian. Increasing numbers of pupils have learning difficulties and disabilities and in some classes this accounts for more than a third.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007

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Grade: 2

St John the Evangelist RC Primary School is a good school with outstanding features. Central to this is the excellent leadership of the headteacher and senior management team. It is their vision, along with the governors, that every child does matter, which has ensured that pupils achieve as well as they do. As one parent commented, 'the school provides calm, caring environment and high standards of achievement.' Most of the children begin school with below expected skills in many areas of development but particularly in communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world and social skills. They make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes due to a well planned early year's curriculum. Despite their good progress, children's low starting points mean that their attainment in communication language and literacy is still below average by the time they go into Year 1, but in all other areas it is broadly as expected.

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Grade: 2

Pupils reach above average standards in writing by the end of Year 2 and just below average in mathematics and reading. Pupils make good progress as they move through the older classes. By the end of Year 6 pupils reached above average standards in English, mathematics and science. This is due in a large part to consistently good teaching, and an interesting curriculum which interests and motivates pupils to want to learn. The current Year 6 are unlikely to reach such high standards as in previous years as just under half the class are identified with learning difficulties and disabilities. However they are on track to meet their targets and make good progress. The personal development and well-being of pupils, along with care, guidance and support are outstanding. The pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural attributes pervade the school and create a positive, inclusive learning environment. Pupils' behaviour is good and their

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Grade: 2

attitudes to learning excellent. Skilful classroom management promotes a positive learning ethos. This gives pupils a strong foundation for the next stage of their education. The school caters for the needs of vulnerable pupils very well. Pupils feel safe and very well cared for. All these factors make a significant contribution to pupils' good achievement. The majority of parents have confidence in the school. Despite a number of examples of the school involving parents in their children's learning, there are however a minority of parents who do not feel that the school consults with them or asks for their opinions. The school has tackled the issues from the last inspection effectively. It gives very good value for money. It has a strong capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop the partnership with parents so that all are confident that the school takes their views into account.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Pupils make good progress and reach above average standards by the end of Year 6. Children enter the school in Nursery with below levels expected for their age in communication language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world and personal and social development. Pupils make good progress so that they reach above average standards 4 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007 in writing by the end of Year 2 but just below average standards in reading and mathematics. Pupils continue to progress well as they move through the school so that over the last few years they reach above average standards in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. The scrutiny of work showed that current Year 6 pupils are not going to reach as high standards as in previous years. The school has identified their needs and has correctly put in

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Grade: 2

extra support to help them achieve as well as they can. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities make good progress in basic skills because they are supported well by teachers and teaching assistants and the work is well planned and appropriate to their needs.

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Grade: 1

The personal development and well being of pupils is outstanding, as a result of the high quality of the care and guidance the school gives them. A member of the school council encapsulated the caring ethos of the school when he said: 'people here are really kind to each other that's why it's a good school.' Pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very well supported by assemblies and special events, and a rich curriculum. When they join the school, pupils quickly gain in self esteem and obviously enjoy their lessons. As one member of the school council said,' we are all kind to each other here.' Pupils generally behave well and where some pupils find it hard to behave the school has good strategies in place to support these pupils. Pupils have a good awareness of how to keep healthy and know how to stay safe. Attendance is broadly as expected. Pupils look after each other in the playground and play well

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Grade: 1

together. The school council has initiated 'playground buddies' to ensure that no-one feels 'left out.' Pupils develop well the skills they need for their next step in learning.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. The relative stability of staffing has helped produce a consistently good level of classroom practice, and, as a result pupils achieve well. In addition to good classroom teachers, the school makes very good use of additional teaching and support staff, who work effectively, with identified groups of pupils with particular needs. Teachers have good relationships with pupils. As a result, pupils are keen to learn. Pupils are challenged effectively and the majority of lessons move at a brisk pace. Sometimes the pace of lessons is slower and pupils are not fully focussed on their learning, despite teachers using positive strategies to motivate them. Classrooms are visually stimulating and help to create a positive atmosphere where learning is interesting.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. There is a wealth of enrichment opportunities for pupils such as a wide range of visits and visitors and Year 5 pupils are fortunate to be able to learn a stringed instrument. All of these opportunities make a positive contribution to the pupils' personal, cultural and creative development. The school has looked closely at the new primary strategy and has reviewed the curriculum to reflect this. Much of the curriculum now follows a topic based approach and there are good links between subjects. This is a positive move and ensures that pupils can use skills learnt in one area of the curriculum in different subjects. This was 5 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007 seen in a good lesson in the information and communication technology (ICT) suite, where ICT was being used to teach literacy and science work. The pupils really enjoyed this lesson. It is

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Grade: 2

still early days however to see the full impact of this across all areas of the curriculum. However the work which is being done on the teaching of basic skills development is impacting positively on pupils' achievement and is why they make good progress. There is a good range of extra-curricular activities, including sport and the creative arts, a strength of the school. These are popular and well attended.

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Grade: 1

The quality of these aspects is outstanding and the school is rightly proud of its caring ethos. As one parent commented; 'the school provides a loving caring environment for all children who attend.' Teachers and support staff are very sensitive to the needs of pupils. The increasing numbers of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and those who are new to learning English receive very good support from teachers and teaching assistants. The school works closely with a wide range of outside agencies. Pupils' health and safety are given appropriate focus. The school has excellent systems for assessing and recording learners' attainment and progress. Assessment information is used well to guide planning. Teachers make good use of data to track pupils' progress. Work is marked to a high standard so that pupils are clear about what they need to do to improve. There is time built into the week so that pupils can reflect on what

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Grade: 1

teachers' have told them about how they can improve their work. This really helps pupils to make progress in their learning.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. There is a real sense of teamwork and high expectations throughout the school. The headteacher, senior management team, and governors have a shared vision for the development of the school putting the pupils as central to all the decisions that they make. These factors have brought about good improvements, improving standards and resulted in the school's good overall effectiveness. The headteacher leads her team very well. She, along with the governing body, has a clearly focused vision for the development of the school. The school's evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses is accurate, albeit on occasions too modest. The leadership team focus sharply, and are very clear about the school's key priorities which are linked to the best interests of the pupils. The school has developed good strategies for consulting parents, but some believe these are not enough and

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Grade: 1

that their opinions are not taken into account. The governors are very supportive and are knowledgeable in their understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They act as critical friends and are highly challenging in their expectations of what the school can achieve. The school is in a strong position to continue to improve. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

10 May 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of St John Evangelist RC Primary School, Duncan Street, Islington High Street, London, N1 8BL Thank you for making me welcome when I came to visit your good school. It was lovely to be able to meet some of you. You and your teachers do lots of things really well. • You obviously enjoy coming to school and the school council told me that they all enjoy learning in their lessons • You work very hard and you make good progress in your learning. • By Year 6 you reach above average standards in your English, mathematics and science work. • Your personal development and well being is excellent. • The care, guidance and support you receive is outstanding and this means that most of you are confident and happy learners. • Your school is very well led by your headteacher and the Governing Body. In order to make your school even better; • I have asked the teachers to look at ways of helping your parents to feel that they are all

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

fully involved in your education. With best wishes Sue Vale Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: St John Evangelist RC Primary School, 27 April 2007

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