John Henry Newman Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

John Henry Newman Academy continues to be a good school.

The executive headteacher of this school is Katie Screaton.

This school is part of the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Anne Dellar, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Kathy Winrow. The executive headteacher is responsible for this school and one other.

What is it like to attend this school?

John Henry Newman Academy is warm and welcoming to all. Pupils enjoy being part of such a diverse and inclusive school community. They absolutely believe in the school's vision - 'let ...your light shine'.

This belief permeates through the entire school community and forges the strong relationships within it.

Pupils of all ages live up to the school's high expectations through their application of the 'LEARN' values. Showing respect for others lies at the heart of this.

Pupils listen carefully in their lessons and behave consistently well. They work hard and achieve well across much of the curriculum. Pupils know that their kind and caring adults will help them with their learning and if they have any worries.

There are many opportunities for pupils to develop their character. Pupil leadership roles include house captains, values leaders, buddies and serving on the school council. Pupils understand the democratic systems which lead to their appointments and take their responsibilities seriously.

School assemblies regularly include input from pupils who share their experiences. This develops strong understanding about diversity and difference, shaped within a culture of mutual respect. Pupils at this school are happy in the knowledge that they can be themselves.

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

The school has designed a curriculum which is relevant and ambitious for all pupils. It reflects the school's context as well as extending pupils' horizons beyond the Littlemore area. A culture of effective professional development and useful coaching ensures that teachers know their subjects well.

The recently introduced 'challenge menu' means that teachers' questioning is varied and increasingly effective. In most subjects, they use their questioning skills well to check and assess pupils' learning. However, in a few foundation subjects, this is not as effective as assessment procedures are still being developed.

Leaders express an unwavering ambition for pupils to develop a love for reading. Pupils enjoy visiting the school's 'Librarium', the local community library and Oxford's Story Museum, which they enthuse about. Staff are skilled at teaching pupils how to read.

This begins in Nursery, where children have their first encounters with letter names and sounds. They join in enthusiastically with their alphabet song. As pupils move up through the school years, they use their strong phonics knowledge to sound out and read words.

As a result, pupils read with increasing fluency. Pupils who need extra help with their reading receive the support they need to catch up.

The learning environment supports pupils' learning well.

Pupils make use of the classroom working walls to recall key vocabulary and learning. In mathematics lessons, pupils find this particularly useful, as well as the resources that help them to illustrate their learning. Across the curriculum, teaching staff model subject-specific conversation and discussions.

This means that pupils use familiar 'sentence stems' to agree with, challenge or build on their classmates' observations and thoughts. They articulate their learning well. Teachers design activities that enthuse pupils.

At times, while pupils enjoy these activities, they do not help them to learn the intended knowledge well enough.

Additional support is carefully structured to help all pupils succeed, including those who are disadvantaged. This means that all pupils access the full curriculum, with appropriate adaptations.

Provision within the 'Nest' provides highly personalised support for pupils who have more complex needs. Parents and carers appreciate the information they receive about their children's learning, through the 'weekly update'.

Members of the local governing board and trust staff are knowledgeable about the school and work alongside the school's leaders to develop clear strategic plans.

They ask the right questions and always check for impact of any actions. The school's work to promote pupils' attendance is robust. Where attendance needs to improve, this is identified and acted on quickly, providing families with effective support.

Pupils are proud when they are rewarded with their class 'attendance parties'.

Pupils benefit from the school's many meaningful relationships with the local community. They enthuse about their visits to the Jack Peers Outdoor Centre where they learn about nature and the environment.

The 'Into University' programme and interactions with local businesses build pupils' aspirations, giving them valuable insight into their future opportunities. The local Police Community Support Officers lead a group of pupils who are in the 'mini-police'. These pupils enjoy their opportunities to witness police work in the community, for example at local football matches.

One parent sums up the views of many when they say: 'The school has helped my child to recognise the opportunities that lie ahead for them in the world, where anything is possible.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few foundation subjects, teaching does not always focus sufficiently on what key knowledge and skills are being taught.

This means that sometimes pupils recall the activities undertaken, rather than the intended learning. Leaders should make sure that teachers are explicit in the way they present subject materials so that pupils learn and remember what is intended. ? In a few foundation subjects, meaningful assessment is not fully established.

As a result, checks on what pupils understand are not always used well enough to inform future teaching. The school should ensure that their ongoing work to develop assessment systems enables teachers to identify and address next steps in learning with increased precision.

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.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2018.