St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School

St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School Inspection report

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102588 Unique Reference Number Kingston Upon Thames Local Authority 308060 Inspection number 18 September 2007 Inspection date Wendy Simmons 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 aided School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 226 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Richard Burt Chair Mrs Susan Pavlis Headteacher 8 September 2003 Date of previous school inspection Maple Road School address Surbiton KT6 4AL 020 8390 2976 Telephone number 020 8255 7447 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 18 September 2007 Inspection date 308060 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

This was a reduced tariff inspection carried out by an Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: achievement and standards, teaching and learning, leadership and management, personal development and well-being and care, guidance and support. Evidence was gained from lesson observations. Discussions were held with leaders and pupils and a range of documentation was evaluated. Pupils' work was scrutinised, especially in mathematics. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified. These have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

Pupils come from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. In the last few years many pupils have joined the school at intermittent times throughout the school year and an increasing proportion speak English as an additional language. There has been an increase in the proportion of vulnerable and needy pupils, but overall, many come from favourable home circumstances. An average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 2007

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Grade: 1

St Andrew's and St Mark's is an outstanding school. Leaders know their school very well and governors are correct when they say, 'High quality leadership creates an environment for individuals to flourish'. Leadership at all levels is outstanding. In particular, teamwork is exceptionally well developed and, within this, the headteacher shows exceptionally good skills and vision. As a result, pupils enjoy learning, thrive in both their personal and academic development and gain the skills that they need to be successful in the future. The well-rounded education ensures that pupils gain very good basic skills, develop confidence and co-operate well with others. They take responsibility keenly and are right to be proud of their school. Parents have great confidence in the school, with many written comments describing it as 'very good'. The school has a strong capacity to improve due to the highly effective leadership.

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Grade: 1

Pupils start school with higher than average standards and make considerable progress as they move through the school. This results in standards being exceptionally high overall when pupils leave at the end of Year 6. All groups of learners do well. Parents value the high standards and the words of one sum up their views well when commenting, 'My child is doing well, but is challenged and encouraged to do better'. Staff are very hard working and ambitious for the pupils. The school has set very challenging targets for development and monitors pupils' work and progress very carefully in their drive to reach these. As a result, many pupils work at levels that are exceptionally high not just in English, mathematics and science but also in other subjects studied. Pupils do especially well in music, where singing skills are exceptionally high and pupils regularly share these with the wider community, for example, when performing at the Dorking

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Grade: 1

Festival. During the inspection, pupils sang extracts from 'Aladdin', very beautifully. There was a real tingle factor and as one pupil said, 'It makes shivers go up my spine'. The needs and interests of individuals are at the core of the school's work. Staff know pupils very well and pupils agree that the school is a caring place. Child protection procedures are robust. 'Everyone looks after you', commented one pupil. The high quality care, guidance and support contribute greatly to pupils' success in learning new things so effectively and quickly. In particular, the marking of pupils work helps them to know how to improve and the needs of vulnerable pupils and gifted and talented pupils are especially well met. Parents value the care. For example, one parent summed up the views of others when saying, 'My son only started this term but the staff have made a huge effort to ensure that he settles in well. My son says how

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Grade: 1

content he is and he is very motivated and enthusiastic in his work'. A few parents commented that they would value more flexible after school care, especially for working parents. Parents confirm that they are well informed about the school's work and good reports are sent out. A few said that they would like to be invited into school more often in an informal way. This, said one, would be the 'seasoning' to make a very good school even better. Pupils' personal development is exemplary and parents agree. High standards of behaviour are expected of the children, and pupils respond very well. Pupils confirm that everyone is friendly. In the words of one pupil, 'All of our friends make the school a great place'. The headteacher says, 'Unless a child is happy they do not learn'. Pupils agree that they enjoy school very much. This is an important factor in why pupils work hard and do so well. Their behaviour is exemplary.

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Grade: 1

They are respectful and thoughtful, developing empathy for others. This was very evident when they discussed why people such as Neil Armstrong, Sir Edmund Hillary and Mother Teresa were courageous. Pupils enjoy contributing to the community, especially through sport and music. The school places a strong emphasis on sporting activities, enabling pupils to gain the skills, 4 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 2007 enthusiasm and knowledge of how to be fit and healthy. Pupils develop good eating habits. As one boy said, ''I didn't really like spinach but I got used to it'. Varied and interesting work in religious education, strong links between subjects and the church enhance pupils' spiritual, moral social and cultural development very successfully. High quality teaching and learning opportunities mean that pupils make very good progress. Governors are right to be proud of the school's work because, as they say, 'A remarkable group

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Grade: 1

of people concentrate on getting the best from our children'. In lessons, teachers use a range of techniques to help pupils to learn in different ways. Pupils commented that, 'Teachers make learning fun and drama really helps us to understand'. They like French and literacy in particular. Many noted that, 'Performing poetry is great'. The school places a very good emphasis on encouraging pupils to talk about their ideas and work, which helps them to understand new things quickly. For example, in mathematics, pupils explained clearly how they solved decimal calculation problems step by step. The focus on calculation skills is very good, although there are some missed opportunities to develop real life problem solving in mathematics and the school has identified this themselves. As a result, they are in the process of reviewing their entire mathematics curriculum. In English, pupils write for real purpose and develop editing

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Grade: 1

and drafting skills very well and this is a factor in the very high standards attained. The very wide-ranging curriculum and opportunities for all pupils to enjoy creativity clubs demonstrate exemplary practice. Leaders have been very forward thinking in the way that they are developing and planning activities, so that subjects link together well. The rigorous approach to assessing pupils' learning and progress in all subjects helps leaders to mould the curriculum to ensure that pupils have the best opportunities to learn. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about school life. They value the range of interesting clubs and trips out, in particular the residential trip to 'Hindleap Warren', where pupils learn to work in teams, overcome difficulties and gain confidence. One commented, 'Working together can be difficult, but it's worth it'.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Widen opportunities for pupils to work on real life problem-solving activities in mathematics. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 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? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 September 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School,Surbiton,KT6 4AL You may remember that a school inspector came to your school recently. Thank you for being so friendly. I am writing to let you know what I found out. Your school is outstanding, which means that it does many things especially well and there is very little that needs to be done to improve. This is because your headteacher, teachers, assistants and governors are working incredibly hard to make the school very special for you. Your teachers give you many exciting activities, which make learning fun and you work very hard at learning. This is outstanding and helps you to make very good progress. Clearly, you enjoy coming to school and like learning. I especially enjoyed hearing you sing an extract from 'Aladdin'. Like you, it made me tingle with joy to hear such a high quality performance. Well done for behaving so well - please keep this up, as it is excellent! I know that you value

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

being in such a caring school. You do very well in all of your subjects and this means that you learn important skills for the future. In particular, your school ensures that you reach much higher standards than most other schools in the country. This is because teachers help you to learn in different ways and they make sure that they tell you how to improve your work. Well done for taking note of their ideas and comments. Your headteacher and all of the staff and governors are working amazingly well to keep improving things for you. We agree that doing the following important thing will improve the school even more.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to have more opportunities to use your mathematics skills to work out real life mathematical problems. You can help them with this, by continuing to work hard. Well done! You are a great credit to your school, your parents and yourselves. Yours faithfully Wendy SimmonsLead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: St Andrew's and St Mark's CofE Junior School, 18 September 2007

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