Clayton St John CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for the pupils at this school. They have started to make positive improvements to reading and mathematics.

They recognise that there is still much to do to ensure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive a high-quality education.

Pupils are polite and well-mannered at Clayton St John. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the school.

Behaviour in lessons and around school is usually good. Most pupils want to learn, and focus well, but some pupils find this difficult. These pupils are given extra help.

However, this is not always having the positive impact that lea...ders want. This is because the approaches used are inconsistent. Consequently, the behaviours are often repeated.

Bullying does happen in the school. It is usually dealt with quickly; however, this is not always the case.

Pupils learn to work together at this school through planned partner work and a focus on sharing.

They have opportunities to take part in a growing range of after-school clubs, such as karate or a games club. They value the residential trips that take place in key stage 2 and enjoy the opportunity to meet new friends at the trust prom. Leaders give pupils opportunities to learn how to be responsible citizens through taking on roles such as librarians or eco-councillors.

Parents value these opportunities but would like a wider range.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The last few years have been challenging for the school. Since joining the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT), there have been several changes to leadership.

This has resulted in a period of instability. However, the improvements made, over time, to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics are now having a positive impact.

There is a determination across the school that pupils will 'learn to read' so that they can then 'read to learn'.

Pupils start on this journey in the early years. All staff have been trained to deliver the school's chosen programme. They understand the importance of pupils being given books that enable them to practise the sounds they have been taught.

Pupils benefit from this systematic and consistent teaching approach. They show confidence to blend sounds with growing fluency as they learn to read.

This focus on reading continues throughout the school.

Leaders give all pupils the opportunity to read high-quality texts. They have daily lessons where they read, talk and explore the meaning of texts. This helps pupils to improve their reading skills.

However, pupils who find reading challenging cannot always access the texts. Consequently, they do not always understand the intended learning. In the wider curriculum, pupils are not always clear about whether they are learning subject knowledge or whether they are having another reading lesson.

Leaders have started to address the previous curriculum deficiencies in mathematics. They have introduced new resources which support teachers to plan lessons which build learning progressively. Staff have benefited from training in mathematics and now support pupils well.

There is still further work to ensure that this learning begins from the early years.

The curriculum is being improved in all subjects. Some subjects, such as art, have coherent planning in place.

Teachers are clear in their approaches to plan lessons which build learning over time. Artwork in books and around school reflects this and pupils speak positively about their learning. Other subjects are not at this point.

All subjects have planning in place; however, in some subjects it is not sufficiently well thought through. The knowledge that has been identified is not planned progressively across the school. Teachers are not always clear about what they want pupils to know, do and remember in lessons.

Consequently, they do not plan learning which builds on prior knowledge and cannot assess what pupils know and remember about learning.

The provision for the youngest children in the school is not well planned. Teachers ensure that children have opportunities to do fun activities.

However, these are not coherently planned to build learning from Nursery into Reception and beyond. Consequently, children are not always ready to move on to Year 1. Leaders have improved the teaching of reading in the early years and are now using this structure to improve wider learning opportunities.

This is an inclusive school. The pupils with SEND, however, have not always been identified quickly enough or supported well enough over time. This is partially due to situations beyond the leaders' control.

There are now plans in place to ensure that the needs of these pupils are identified accurately, and effective support plans are utilised to help them to make greater progress.

The trust, diocese and local governing board have an accurate understanding of the areas that need focusing on to improve this school. They have a determination that these improvements will be made with urgency.

Communication with parents and staff is not always effective. They do not always understand the reasons behind leaders' actions in areas such as behaviour management. Leaders know that more must be done to improve this.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff care about the pupils in the school. They know the families well and work with outside agencies, such as the food bank, the church and the police community support officer, to support them.

There are systems in place to identify, report and record any concerns. Staff are trained to do this and have a good understanding of the risks that pupils face in the local area. Leaders must do more to ensure that staff report concerns swiftly and rigorously.

This will then enable them to address issues and support pupils more effectively. Leaders' clear vision of safeguarding being everyone's responsibility must be at the forefront of everyone's mind.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The quality of education that pupils receive in some subjects is not good enough.

Clear, coherent planning is not in place for all subjects. This means that teachers do not plan lessons that build learning over time. Leaders should utilise expertise within the trust to support subject leaders, including those in the early years, to develop sufficient detail within the subject plans to support the planning of sequenced lessons.

• Teachers do not use assessment information well enough to adapt lessons to meet the needs of all pupils, including those in the early years and pupils with SEND. As a result, not all pupils achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers know how to assess what pupils know and remember, so that they can adapt their teaching to focus on what pupils need to learn next.

• Pupils with SEND do not always receive the correct support to enable them to access learning successfully. A small number of pupils display challenging behaviour. This is not always dealt with consistently.

Leaders need to ensure that the targets on individual learning, behaviour or pastoral support plans are well matched to pupils' needs and that staff are following them consistently. ? Planning for learning for the youngest children is not good enough. Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is well planned and progressive from Nursery onwards.

Leaders need to ensure that high-quality learning is planned, both indoors and outdoors, to motivate, challenge and engage children with learning. This will ensure that they are fully prepared for key stage 1. ? The behaviour management systems in the school are not well understood.

There are inconsistencies in the way they are followed. Staff do not always record concerns swiftly or robustly enough and leaders do not monitor these systems with rigour. This means that effective support is not always put in place quickly enough for pupils.

Leaders need to create an environment where all pupils can flourish and all staff have equally high expectations of behaviour. ? Recent changes to leadership have meant that new leaders are unsure around lines of accountability with school improvement. Trust and senior leaders need to clarify roles and responsibilities for a smoother path forward and to ensure that they work together to improve the quality of education and future school improvement.