Ripley St John’s Church of England Primary School and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ripley St John's Church of England Primary School and Nursery continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know they are well cared for in this happy, inclusive and welcoming school. The large majority of parents and carers are highly supportive of the school. One captured the sentiments of many when they said: 'This is not just a school but more importantly a community, which works together to help children to feel safe, be happy and secure success for their futures.'

Pupils feel happy and safe. They enjoy coming to school. Relationships are warm and supportive.

Pupils get on well together. They are polite and courteous.

The schoo...l promotes pupils' spiritual, social, moral and cultural development exceptionally well.

The school organises many trips and visits including undertaking geography fieldwork in Dovedale, listening to and playing with the Halle Orchestra in Derby and seeing Parliament. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. Pupils are well supported in exploring their own identity and place in modern Britain.

They are highly respectful of people from backgrounds different to their own.

Pupils attend, behave and achieve well. They have every confidence that any concerns they have will be dealt with by staff.

Pupils appreciate the school's 'worry wizard'. Most pupils live up to the high expectations the school has of them. Classrooms are busy and purposeful.

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

Strong and reflective leadership, including subject leadership, lies at the heart of the school's ambitious and inclusive curriculum for all pupils. Leaders, including governors, have a precise understanding of the school's strengths and improvement priorities.Governors are effective in holding school leaders to account.

Staff morale is positive and united. Teachers and other supporting adults feel empowered to contribute to the life of the school, for example by developing artistry, nurture in nature and librarianship. Everyone is committed to pupils' successful achievement.

The school has ensured that pupils' learning builds from the early years to the end of Year 6. Staff have clarity about what is taught and when.

Children make a very positive start in the early years, meaning they are well prepared for Year 1.

Learning spaces in Nursery and Reception are stimulating and well organised. Activity stations are well considered. Children enjoy high-quality interactions with adults that support their discovery of new learning.

Routines are well established. Children learn social skills quickly, such as taking turns and sharing resources.

The culture of reading in the school is exceptionally strong.

Pupils like to read. The school's library is an inviting space, promoting books from a wide range of genres. Pupils enjoy reading in the library's 'hobbit holes'.

Equally, they enjoy the interactive style of storytelling by their teachers, anticipating what might be coming next. The school has thoughtfully ensured that the books pupils read reflect life in modern society, including different cultures and future aspirations. As a result, pupils are well prepared to become responsible citizens.

They are encouraged to use their voice respectfully. The school facilitates wider opportunities to encourage reading at home, including 'book blanket' reading with families.

Children learn to read as soon as they join Reception.

Staff are well trained in the delivery of the school's phonics scheme. Staff make frequent checks to ensure that pupils are on track to achieve the expected standard by the end of Year 1. Pupils who need extra help and support receive this swiftly.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. They receive tailored support from teachers and supporting adults. The school has strengthened its systems for sharing the information staff need to help pupils with SEND.

Pupils with SEND are fully included in the life of the school.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They use this to plan engaging lesson activities that stimulate pupils' interest.

Pupils particularly enjoy mathematics and are keen to demonstrate their learning. Teachers typically question pupils well to check their understanding. Sometimes, teachers move on to new ideas too quickly before some pupils have fully grasped what has been taught.

Pupils typically present their work well. However, on occasions, pupils make repeated errors in their spelling of important words. These are sometimes left unchallenged by staff.

Nevertheless, by the end of each key stage, most pupils achieve well in most subjects.

The school takes pupils' personal development seriously. The school's curriculum for personal, social, health and economic development (PSHE) is well considered.

An extensive range of extra-curricular activities complement the opportunities pupils have to explore the world around them, particularly through the arts and sports, as well as other bespoke opportunities such as archaeology. Pupils like to take on leadership roles, including well-being warriors, arts ambassadors and members of the eco-council.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers move pupils on to new learning before ensuring that all pupils have understood what has been taught. When this happens, a small number of pupils lose focus and their concentration drifts. Gaps in knowledge develop as a result.

The school should ensure that all staff know how best to check pupils' understanding before moving learning on so that all pupils are able to achieve as well as they can. ? Staff expectations of pupils' accuracy in spelling are not consistently high in all year groups. Sometimes errors in spelling, including specialist subject vocabulary, are not identified and remedied swiftly enough.

Some pupils continue to make the same spelling errors over time. The school should ensure that all staff have the skills they need to promote and secure consistent expectations of spelling so that pupils can achieve more.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2015.

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