St John's Green Primary School

St John's Green Primary School Inspection report

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114711 Unique Reference Number ESSEX Local Authority 290007 Inspection number 20 June 2007 Inspection date George Falconer HMI 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 Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 219 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Elisa Vasquez Walters Chair Mr Simon Billings Headteacher 8 July 2002 Date of previous school inspection St John's Green School address Colchester Essex CO2 7HE

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01206573457 Telephone number 01206570760 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 20 June 2007 Inspection date 290007 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St John's Green Primary School is smaller than average and serves pupils from a wide area with many pupils living outside of the school's immediate locality. Attainment on entry is varied but many children have levels much lower than expected in communication, language and literacy as well as in mathematical development. Some pupils also lack the expected levels of social and emotional development. A higher percentage of pupils takes free school meals than is found nationally. The school also has a greater percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below the national average.

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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's Green Primary School, 20 June 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that works hard to provide a good quality of education for its pupils. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher gives the school strategic direction, and he is firmly supported by the chair of governors and the senior management team. The role of subject coordinators is developing to ensure that they monitor the quality of education more closely. Responses from the vast majority of parents illustrate the positive feelings that they have for the school, to which they give much support. One parent commented, 'I have the utmost praise for the school and staff, but most importantly Mr Billings, the office staff and all my daughter's teachers.' Pupils achieve well from low starting points on entry to the Foundation Stage. They make good progress from the effective teaching they receive, and by the end of Key Stage 1 reach standards that are broadly average. They continue to make good progress through Key Stage 2, and gain

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Grade: 2

above-average results in the national tests at age 11. Key Stage 2 results show that the pupils' achievements, particularly in mathematics and science, are good in relation to other schools nationally. The school rightly acknowledges that more work needs to be done to help pupils, particularly boys, make better progress in English. Personal development and well-being are good, and pupils say the school supports them very well indeed. They mature well as they move from year to year and take on responsibilities, including the work of the school council. The quality of education is good. Teaching and learning are good overall. Teachers plan and prepare lessons carefully and provide good opportunities for the pupils to progress well. Leaders and managers recognise that teaching could further challenge more-able pupils. The curriculum is broad and balanced and the school provides a good range of enrichment activities that are

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Grade: 2

well attended. Good use of information and communication technology (ICT) is providing more stimulation for pupils and is increasingly geared to cater for boys' interests in reading. Care, guidance and support are good with robust systems in place for risk assessment. The school takes great care of pupils' social and emotional needs and their health and safety. They are well supported in their academic work by teachers and assistants who provide good levels of guidance. Older pupils are well aware of their targets. The school has a good capacity to improve and provides good value.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards, particularly in English and particularly that of boys. • Maximise the potential for higher attainers across all curriculum areas. • Make sure that subject coordinators monitor and evaluate more closely the quality of teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good overall. Many children enter the Foundation Stage with very low starting points, particularly in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development, but make good progress with their early learning goals towards challenging targets. This is due to the good, and often very good, quality of teaching and learning, and the good levels of care, guidance and support that they receive. Teaching and learning continue to be good in Key 4 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Green Primary School, 20 June 2007 Stage 1 and most pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers' assessments of the standards pupils attain at the end of Key Stage 1 correctly show that most pupils' attainment levels are broadly average when compared to the national picture. This demonstrates how well they have done in relation to their starting points and capabilities. By the end of Key Stage 2, the continued good quality of teaching and learning enables pupils to

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Grade: 2

demonstrate good progress and achieve well, including pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and pupils from minority ethnic groups. National test results for 2006 show performance above the national average in mathematics and well above in science. Results are lower in English, especially those of boys. The overall quality of provision is well matched to the developing needs of the majority of pupils, but provision is not yet fully matched to the more able.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Pupils learn well how to keep healthy and safe from the good opportunities provided in personal, social and health education. The school has a nurture room which is used well by both parents and pupils and this contributes much to pupils' well being. Spiritual development is satisfactory and moral, social and cultural aspects are good. Pupils are enthusiastic, well behaved and have good attitudes to learning. They say that they like school and feel well supported by their teachers and classroom assistants. Pupils like most lessons and think that the teachers do a good job. They have positive views about the differences between themselves and others. They are taught that all people are of equal value. Consequently, they adopt positive attitudes, noticeable in their good behaviour towards one another. The school council is playing a positive part in school development, and pupils

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Grade: 2

feel valued for the work they do. Pupils feel they could do more in supporting the wider community outside school and the inspection agrees with this. Pupils are well prepared for the next phase of their education.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good with some very good practice in the Foundation Stage. Teachers put a good level of thought into their lesson planning and preparation and are successful in meeting most pupils' needs. Lessons are made interesting. The pace of learning is good overall, with good levels of interaction between teachers and pupils. The pupils work well together and can often be seen supporting each other. This is, in part, due to the good levels of effectiveness of their personal development. Pupils are also encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and are developing good individual learning skills, including the use of ICT. The school development plan is now rightly focusing on more targeted provision for more able pupils. Teaching assistants are well deployed and make a good contribution to learners' outcomes.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and its quality is monitored regularly by senior managers in order to make sure that it meets pupils' needs in the most appropriate ways. It is broad and balanced 5 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Green Primary School, 20 June 2007 and covers statutory requirements. The school is currently working hard to bring the standards in English up to the higher levels of mathematics and science, particularly for the boys. A very good range of curricular enrichment activities is provided by the school, including a computer club for girls, a dance club and a sports and athletic club. All of these impact positively on pupils who say that they think the school does a good job in supporting them and widening their interests. Those pupils who are gifted and talented are well supported and their needs are met through a variety of activities and through 'gift classes' provided by the local consortium.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The school pays close attention to making sure that the pupils are healthy, safe and secure. It regularly monitors its procedures and updates its strategies wherever necessary. Child protection is secure. The school works well with parents and external agencies, including the educational welfare officer, to ensure that pupils are happy and make good progress. They are made well aware of the learning opportunities open to them and they are carefully guided as they move through the school. Most of the older pupils know their targets and know what they have to do in order to improve further. The majority of pupils, including those most at risk, are well supported.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. They ensure good levels of achievement from the Foundation Stage to the end of Key Stage 2. Pupils make good progress and many do very well from their low starting points in this inclusive school. The headteacher is strategic in his vision and planning and the senior management team are keenly focused on school improvement. They have ensured good improvement since the last inspection and are fully aware of areas for continued development. Leaders and managers ensure that the quality of teaching and learning is good and continually make improvements to a curriculum that already meets pupils' needs well. Curriculum coordinators are monitoring outcomes well and the school is now justifiably working towards increasing these roles to monitor the quality of teaching and learning, particularly in English, mathematics and science. The headteacher is well supported by the chair

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Grade: 2

of governors, who has a good in-depth knowledge of the progress the school has made since the last inspection. The chair is also positively supportive and constructively critical. The vast majority of parents are equally supportive of St John's Green School and speak positively of the leadership, management and staff. There is good capacity for further improvement 6 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Green Primary School, 20 June 2007 .

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Grade: 2

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's Green Primary School, 20 June 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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?

2 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's Green Primary School, 20 June 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's Green Primary School, 20 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 June 2007 Dear Children Inspection of St John's Green Primary School, Colchester, CO2 7HE Thank you very much for all the help you gave me when I visited your school. You managed to tell me such a lot about the school and your teachers in such a short time when I visited you in class. The school council also told me a great deal about the school and had some strong opinions too. None of you had a bad word to say about school and all of you were very positive about being there, about your learning and about your teachers and 'Mr B'. All of you thought you were making good progress in your work, and I agree with this. You are well taught and supported by the teachers and the numerous assistants who work hard as a team to provide you with work that meets your needs well. Children in Reception class were having a great time in the playground in the PE lesson, and so did Year 3 who were practising for sports day, which I hear went really well. Many of the older children were

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

rehearsing a production in the hall and having a great time, whilst others were busy woodcarving and working on a fabulous skyline of Colchester. The levels of concentration were high, as was the level of enjoyment. In fact you were all working hard and enjoying yourselves at the same time. I talked with your teachers, headteacher and other adults a great deal during the day. It is obvious that the school works hard to give you a good education, including all the valuable extra activities available to you, like sport, music and drama. The headteacher and staff are now going to look even more closely at what you do in lessons and they are going to concentrate especially on helping you to improve in English, especially in writing. This particularly applies to boys and writing. At the same time they are also going to introduce more learning opportunities for those of you who are capable of working at even higher levels. It sounds like

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you are all going to be very busy! Once again, thank you for your help. Best wishes George Falconer Her Majesty's Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Green Primary School, 20 June 2007

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