Fitzjohn’s Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Fitzjohn's Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Fitzjohn's Primary School is a harmonious community of happy pupils and adults. The school's values of resilience, respect, curiosity, excellence, individuality and responsibility are well embedded. Pupils know the importance of the school's values, and they are lived out in how pupils behave towards each other.

Adults manage behaviour in a consistent way. As a result, the school is calm and orderly. Leaders are alert to instances of bullying and deal with these swiftly.

Relationships between pupils and adults are warm and caring. Pupils know who to talk to if they have any worr...ies and, as a result, they are kept safe in school. Most parents are very positive about the school, its inclusive atmosphere and welcoming environment.

In most subjects, the school has designed an ambitious curriculum for all pupils. Pupils are proud of their school and show enthusiasm for learning. They understand how to use the school's values such as 'responsibility' to be better learners.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get kind, patient and effective support from well-trained staff.

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

As soon as pupils start at Fitzjohn's, reading is given a high priority. Staff are highly skilled because they have regular training and support to help them to implement the agreed phonics programme with precision.

Pupils are given regular opportunities to practise reading with books containing sounds they have learned. This helps to ensure they read with increasing accuracy and fluency. Staff use assessment effectively to identify those who may need extra support to catch up.

Pupils are passionate about reading and enjoy being read to each day. For example, children in Reception enjoy voting for the books they will listen to next. The 'Fitzjohn's Fabulous Favourites' motivates pupils in all year groups to read a diverse range of high-quality books.

In most subjects, the school has developed a curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils from early years through to Year 6. In these areas, the curriculum is designed to ensure pupils build their knowledge over time and make connections between past and present learning. Teachers model precise language and use questioning successfully to challenge misconceptions and extend pupils' ability to reason and deepen their learning.

For example, in mathematics, Year 1 pupils are taught to use a range of sentences to help them explain how many groups of 10 beads they have altogether. In Year 4, pupils can explain how to convert improper fractions into mixed numbers. Year 6 pupils confidently articulate their methods for short division as well as explain different ways they could represent their answers according to the context of the question.

Staff have been fully included in these developments and appreciate the freedom they are given to adapt lessons to ensure pupils learn successfully. Staff enjoy working here because they feel valued as professionals and appreciate that leaders and governors ask for their views when making decisions that might affect their workload. Governors know the school well and understand their strategic role in holding leaders to account for curriculum developments.

Leaders have rightly identified that some subjects need further development. In these areas, the subject-specific knowledge and skills that pupils need to know and remember are not as clearly identified. As a result, the activities chosen do not consistently help pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding over time.

The school has high expectations for pupils with SEND to develop as confident, successful, independent learners. Pupils receive effective support and participate in all aspects of school life. This is because their needs are swiftly identified and addressed.

Adaptations to the curriculum and environment help pupils access learning alongside their peers, wherever this is possible.

Attendance is a high priority for leaders, and all staff understand their role in promoting this. Leaders monitor and analyse attendance thoroughly.

They work closely with individual families and because of the many strategies they have put in place, attendance is improving.Pupils enjoy the range of wider opportunities that the school offers. For example, every year group goes on a wide range of visits each year.

Pupils particularly enjoy being part of the school council where they can raise money for their chosen charities as well as take part in the annual stakeholder meeting.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum in some subjects is at an earlier stage of design and implementation.

In these instances, the subject-specific knowledge and skills that pupils need to know and remember are not as clearly defined. This means that the activities pupils complete are not consistently helping them to deepen their understanding of important ideas. The school should ensure the curriculum is coherently designed and sequenced in all subjects and that the tasks pupils complete match the ambition of the intended curriculum.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection.

However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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