St Jude's Church of England Primary School

St Jude's Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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100835 Unique Reference Number Southwark Local Authority 307502 Inspection number 17 °18 October 2007 Inspection dates Margaret Coussins 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 5 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 168 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Veronica Quinn Chair Mrs Lynn Charlton Headteacher 16 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection Colnbrook Street School address London SE1 6HA 020 7928 5484 Telephone number 020 7401 3405 Fax number

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5-11 Age group 17 °18 October 2007 Inspection dates 307502 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Jude's is a smaller than average primary school in a socially and economically disadvantaged area, which is culturally and racially diverse. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is much higher than average. The largest group is from a Black African background. The percentage of pupils whose first language is not English is higher than average. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is higher than average as is the proportion with learning difficulties or disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007

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Grade: 3

St Jude's is a satisfactory school. The ethos within the school successfully promotes care and respect amongst pupils from different backgrounds and trusting relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils' personal development is good so they feel safe and like coming to school. This is shown in attendance rates, which have improved since the last inspection and are now above average. Parents are generally positive about the school. One wrote, 'St Jude's has given both my children a great start in life.' Pupils have a good awareness of the need to adopt healthy lifestyles and know the benefits of eating a balanced diet and taking regular exercise. Pupils enjoy the responsibilities they are given in school but there are not always enough opportunities, particularly for younger pupils, to make decisions and act on their own ideas. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory and standards are broadly average by the time they leave

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Grade: 3

in Year 6. Standards are below average by the end of Year 2 but, given their starting points, pupils make satisfactory progress. Standards in writing are not high enough across the school. Pupils' work shows they are beginning to make better progress. This is a result of having a more stable staff, improvements in the planning and development of the curriculum and better checking of pupils' progress. However, teaching is only satisfactory overall because there are not yet enough good lessons to raise standards more rapidly. Teachers' expectations in some lessons are too low, which means that work is not always challenging enough, particularly for more able pupils. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are supported well and make similar progress to others. The school has good systems for keeping track of the progress pupils make and teachers have

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Grade: 3

a clear picture of how well pupils are doing over time. Pupils have targets for their learning in mathematics, reading and writing which help them know what they need to do to improve their work. However, there is insufficient detailed analysis of where the gaps are in teaching and learning, especially in writing, to enable the assessment systems to have a greater impact on raising standards. Leaders and managers know the school's strengths, but do not keep a rigorous enough check on all their work to ensure that improvements are made quickly enough. However, the school has made significant improvements in some areas, including pupils' work in science and in tracking progress and attendance rates, which demonstrate that there is a satisfactory capacity to secure further improvement. Pupils' good personal development and the level of their basic skills mean they are satisfactorily prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

When children start in the Reception class their attainment is, on average, well below what is expected for their age, particularly in their communication, language and literacy skills and their personal and social education. Children settle well and enjoy their learning. Teaching is satisfactory and staff work hard to provide a broad range of activities. An outdoor area has been developed since the last inspection but there are too few opportunities for children to benefit from this space where resources are limited. Children make satisfactory progress although they do not reach the expected goals for all their learning by the time they start in Year 1, particularly in their knowledge of sounds and letters, their writing skills, and their understanding of shape and space. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Rigorously monitor all aspects of its work to raise standards and accelerate the pace of improvement. ■ Improve the proportion of good teaching by providing more challenging work, particularly for the more able pupils. ■ Identify why achievement is weak in writing and take steps to address the issues that emerge.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Many pupils start in Year 1 not having reached the expected goals for learning for their age. Standards are below average by the end of Year 2 in reading and mathematics and particularly low in writing. Given pupils' starting points, however, progress and achievement are satisfactory. By Year 6, pupils' work shows that standards are broadly average despite low results in the 2007 English tests, and achievement is satisfactory. Across the school, however, more able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged to make more rapid progress and achieve higher levels. Standards are best in science and have improved because of the focus the school has given to the subject, particularly pupils' investigative skills.

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Grade: 2

Pupils know that their contributions to the school's work are valued and feel part of a close community. Pupils from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds work and play happily together. They take their responsibilities seriously and enjoy their roles as school councillors and 'Guardians'. There are not enough opportunities for pupils to initiate their own ideas and be more involved in decision-making. Pupils know how to keep safe and healthy. One of the youngest children said, 'We have healthy food so we don't get sick or fat.' Behaviour is satisfactory and pupils appreciate the need for school rules. Some pupils find it difficult to moderate their own behaviour, but teachers manage this well in lessons so that the learning of others is not disrupted. Good relationships between pupils and adults support this. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good because the school makes good use

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Grade: 2

of the wealth of opportunities in the area, and of its links with the church, to promote this.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory and enable pupils to make satisfactory progress. Detailed planning, where clear links are made between different subjects and work is tailored to meet the needs of the class, usually makes learning enjoyable and inspiring for pupils. Role-play and the use of information and communication technology are often used well to motivate pupils. However, this is not yet consistent across the school. On occasion, tasks are not challenging or exciting enough to help pupils develop different ways of learning. This is particularly the case for higher attaining pupils, where teachers' expectations are not always high enough. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007 Teachers give pupils targets for their learning and, in some cases, marking gives pupils a very clear indication of what they need to do to improve their work and reach their learning goals.

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Grade: 3

The school has recently revised the curriculum with a range of links across different subjects. This is helping to add energy and interest to the curriculum and but has not yet had time to have a marked impact on standards. The personal, social and health education curriculum is planned well to promote pupils' personal development and ensure their safety through anti-bullying programmes, drug education and road and rail safety. Enrichment of the curriculum through visits, visitors to school, storytelling and links with local theatre groups is good and broadens pupils' experiences, interests and language skills. Enrichment activities inform pupils about the wider community as well as celebrating the diversity of culture and faith within the school community. Performances are enjoyed by parents and visitors and contribute significantly to pupils' confidence and self-esteem. Provision for music is good including a choir, band and

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Grade: 3

the opportunity to play recorder or violin. Pupils spoke with great enthusiasm about how exciting it was to sing in Southwark Cathedral.

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Grade: 3

Counselling and support sessions for pupils with behaviour and emotional difficulties are good and, along with a massage programme, contribute significantly to pupils' well-being. The school has developed good relationships with parents and appropriate support is given to children and their families through the school support systems and effective liaison with external agencies. The school has responded positively to low attendance by carefully checking patterns of absence, rewarding pupils for good attendance and has worked hard to raise attendance levels to above average. Academic support and guidance for pupils are satisfactory. Assessment data is used to track progress however, assessment information is not always used effectively to inform pupils' targets for their learning. All statutory requirements for child protection are in place. Health and safety procedures, including risk assessments are in place but the school

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Grade: 3

does not do enough checks to make sure that all staff follow the procedures consistently. Pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities are identified early and given effective additional support. Parents are very pleased with the individual and often creative support given to their children.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher and assistant headteachers know the children and their families well and effectively promote the caring ethos of the school, which contributes significantly to pupils' personal development and well-being. As a team, they have an accurate view of the school and take into account the views of pupils and parents in their self-evaluation. However, monitoring is not rigorous enough to evaluate how well the school is meeting its identified priorities to raise standards. The governing body is supportive of the school and works well with the headteacher and senior team. They are aware of the strengths of the school and the need to raise standards. The impact of the school's leadership has been somewhat diluted due to many changes in staffing over recent years, including the governing body. Staffing is now more stable 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007

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Grade: 3

and has enabled the senior leaders to implement some effective changes including a more effective and focused tracking and assessment system and curriculum revision. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 3 The behaviour of learners 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?

3 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

1 November 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Jude's Church of England Primary School,London,SE1 6HA Thank you for helping us, when we visited your school, by talking to us about your work and telling us what you think about your school. You were very friendly and interesting to talk to. I am writing to tell you what we have found out. St Jude's is a satisfactory school. You enjoy coming to school, you attend regularly and you and your parents think it is a safe place to be. You respect everyone's different background, culture and faith, which means that you get on well with each other. You trust your teachers and have good relationships with them which help you learn and behave in lessons even though a few of you find this difficult. There are some things that you and your teachers should do to make your school even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All of you should work really hard to improve your writing and your teachers should find out what it is you find difficult about writing so they can help you. ■ Your teachers should give some of you harder work and different ways of learning and expect more from you to help you do well. ■ Everybody who runs your school works really hard and they should check in more detail that all the things they do are helping the school to be better. We were pleased to hear your lovely singing in assembly and in your music lessons. Thank you again for all your help. Yours sincerely Margaret Coussins Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Jude's Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 October 2007

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