The Minster Junior School

Parish Church CofE Junior School Inspection report

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101790 Unique Reference Number Croydon Local Authority 286183 Inspection number 22 °23 March 2007 Inspection dates David Marshall 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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Junior Type of school Voluntary controlled School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 365 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr A Elliot Chair Mr D M Morgan Headteacher 2 July 2002 Date of previous school inspection Warrington Road School address Croydon CR0 4BH

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020 8688 5764 Telephone number 020 8681 7618 Fax number

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7 °11 Age group 22 °23 March 2007 Inspection dates 286183 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Parish CE Junior is significantly bigger than the average school. Most Year 3 entrants come from the adjoining Infant School on the site. A significant number of pupils live in the two wards in Croydon that are defined as deprived. Almost a quarter of pupils have a first language other than English - 31 languages are spoken in the school. Almost half of the pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds. An above average number have learning difficulties or disabilities. The school has the Basic Skills Quality Mark, ArtsMark silver and Investor in People. The school was awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark, in 2005, one of the first twelve schools in the country to achieve this recognition.

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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: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 2007

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Grade: 2

Parish Church is a good school with outstanding features. Its mission statement says it is a 'values' school where pupils learn not only academically but also how to become mature citizens. Inspection evidence shows that the hard work of all staff is enabling them to realise this aim for all pupils. As one parent wrote, 'The school provides a safe environment with a strong emphasis on a Christian ethos, something which we as parents find extremely beneficial to our children.' Staff create a supportive atmosphere for learning which ensures that children make good progress and achieve well. From an above average start, pupils' standards are consistently well above expected levels for their age by the time they leave the school. Teaching and learning are good, and occasionally outstanding. Observations and assessments of what the pupils know and can do are collected well and shared with all concerned. Lessons

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Grade: 2

are very well planned, making sure that all pupils enjoy learning. Although the expectations of pupils' behaviour, and the pace of lessons, are very good in most classes, these features are not consistently seen in all classes. On these few occasions pupils' progress slows and their behaviour suffers. The information collected about pupils through careful use of assessment is used particularly well to ensure that the least able and most vulnerable pupils make excellent progress. Pupils are cared for exceptionally well and all of them, including the most vulnerable, feel safe and secure. Their personal development is outstanding. By the time they leave the school, they have developed into well-rounded individuals because of their excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Behaviour is exemplary and relationships are outstanding. Pupils are excellently equipped to cope with academic and social challenges in the future. The very

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Grade: 2

well planned curriculum covers all subjects and is particularly strong in music and art, where pupils make excellent progress. The very good range of additional activities provided is evident in the pupils' work, shown in the stimulating displays throughout the school. The head teacher provides first-rate leadership. He is very ably supported by his deputy and all staff and developments are driven forward at a very good pace. Strengths and weaknesses are speedily identified because the school has excellent systems for monitoring its work. Teamwork is excellent. The school has continued to improve from the strong position at the time of the last inspection. The school's capacity to continue to improve is excellent.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils' work and behaviour in order to increase the quantity of good and outstanding teaching.

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Grade: 2

Standards are well above average by the end of Year 6 and achievement is very good. Due to the effective organisation, based on early careful assessments, pupils begin to make good progress immediately. National test results in Year 6 in 2006 were similar to those in 2005, and were in line with the school's own carefully formulated targets. Achievement is good throughout the school due to the rigorous system in place to track the progress of each pupil and to identify where additional teaching will be most beneficial. Pupils achieve well across a wide range of subjects. Music and art, in particular, improve very well as the very good curriculum gives many 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 2007 opportunities for pupils to develop their creative, sporting and musical talents. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make excellent progress overall. They are very well supported

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Grade: 2

by the outstanding teacher and very experienced support staff and have access to a curriculum that helps them all to achieve outstandingly well.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being is outstanding. Throughout the school pupils work and play happily together and show real enthusiasm for their lessons. Attendance has improved significantly since 2003 through the efforts of the school and is in line with the national average. Assemblies and the daily act of collective worship provide a very good start to the day with opportunities that heighten pupils' understanding of right and wrong. Through a range of experiences in assemblies, lessons, visits out of school and from the contributions of visitors, pupils gain a good insight to other people's cultures and values. They are very aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and have extremely sensible attitudes to safety. Pupils carry out a wide range of responsibilities with pride. The school council is greatly respected and involved in school improvement projects. Equally strong is the sense of involvement pupils

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Grade: 1

feel with the wider community for example, the outstanding talent show raised money for the local PDSA and ChildLine, so, as one girl said, and;quot;children never have to feel alone."

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. In many lessons there are strong elements that help pupils of all abilities to make good progress. Teachers are a keen and enthusiastic team who encourage pupils in their learning. They use a range of techniques to make lessons enjoyable based on careful assessment to plan the next steps they need to take. Pupils know that their ideas are valued and the very good displays in the classrooms and around the school celebrate their achievements. Most teachers keep up a brisk pace and help pupils to meet their high expectations by asking questions that encourage them to think hard and justify answers. In a very successful numeracy lesson in Year 6, the teacher gave high quality feedback to challenge pupils of all abilities and the very good use of praise raised pupils' expectations of what they were capable of achieving. This level of good teaching is not yet consistent throughout the school. In a few

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Grade: 2

lessons time is not used as well and teachers are less consistent in their demands of the pupils for hard work, concentration and good behaviour. As a result, progress though satisfactory, is less rapid than elsewhere. Teaching assistants work in very close partnership with teachers and make an important contribution to the quality of pupils' learning.

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Grade: 2

Staff have worked very hard to devise a curriculum that is creative and stimulating and provides effectively for the needs of all pupils. Provision for the arts and music is outstanding. Projects with the Tate Gallery have produced outstanding results both artistically and for pupils' self esteem. The school has an extensive choir, and a large number of pupils learn orchestral instruments and have the opportunity to perform in many concerts, including in Southwark Cathedral. As one parent wrote, 'School productions are always fantastic'. Extra curricular 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 2007 provision is outstanding with a wide range of visits, activities and clubs on offer. Focused weeks held in conjunction with the Infant school on themes such as, 'Many cultures - one family' further enhance pupils' skills and their enjoyment of education. Pupils with learning difficulties

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Grade: 2

and disabilities, and those who speak English as an additional language, are given outstanding support, that enables them to achieve extremely well. The school has introduced innovative ways to promote pupils' learning by making links between different subjects. However, these new approaches have yet to be evaluated to see the impact on pupils' learning.

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Grade: 1

The school has a very strong commitment to caring and support, which is reflected in the comprehensive arrangements for safeguarding the welfare of pupils. Every pupil is known and treated as an individual. Pupils say they feel safe and confident to approach an adult if they have a problem. Vulnerable pupils, including those with a variety of learning difficulties and disabilities, are extremely well supported and the school works very effectively in partnership with a wide range of agencies to meet their needs. In particular, the school has a very strong commitment to pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties and enables them to make the best of their education. Good provision is also made for the gifted and talented pupils and consequently they achieve well. Guidance for pupils' academic support is very strong. The detailed tracking of pupils' progress ensures that any potential underachievement is identified

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Grade: 1

early. It is also used to set challenging targets for improvement. As a result pupils achieve very well.

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Grade: 1

A strong sense of teamwork, under the excellent leadership of the head teacher, is evident throughout the school. All staff follow his lead and are very good role models in their own right. One of the key roles of all staff is to follow the headteacher's exemplary lead and relate effectively with all pupils, parents and the local community. In this aim they are very successful. There is a clear understanding of strengths of the school and areas that need more development. Management at all levels is good with effective systems in place to monitor pupils' progress and the quality of teaching and learning. As a result the school's self evaluation is detailed and accurate. The school development plan provides clear guidance on relevant issues for raising standards and the excellent governing body is heavily involved in this planning process. They bring a wide range of skills to bear as they act as critical friends, challenging decisions and

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Grade: 1

requesting explanations where this is judged to be necessary. The opinions of parents and pupils are always valued and frequently acted upon. The school has good links with other organisations to give pupils every possible opportunity. The way they work side-by-side with the Infant school on the same site is exemplary. Within the school there is a high commitment to include all pupils in all activities and the care and concern for all pupils is high priority. Parents value this and see it as an important feature of the school. The school is well placed to continue its successes and has an excellent capacity to improve. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 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: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 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 effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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 1 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: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 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: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

16 April 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Parish Church CofE Junior School, Warrington Road, Croydon, CR0 4BH I am writing to thank you all for making us so welcome when we came to the school recently. We really enjoyed our time at Parish Church and you all helped us by being so friendly and sensible. I thought you would like to know what we found out. We agree with what you told us that Parish Church is a good school. We think that you all do well and really try hard at all times. We really liked the way you make everyone who comes to your school so welcome. We saw that you know you are especially lucky to have so many different activities both during and after school. We also saw how keen you are to take part. Many of you told us how much you enjoy being at school, and how proud you are of what you achieve. We were impressed that you all know what good progress you are making and what to do to make your work even better. By the time you go to secondary school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you are well prepared. I have asked your teachers to make sure that no matter which class you are in all your lessons are as good as most of them are. In turn you must carry on listening carefully and take note of what your teacher says. Then you will all continue to make really good progress in your learning. We wish you all the very best. Yours faithfully David MarshallLead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Parish Church CofE Junior School, 22 °23 March 2007

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