Saint James’ Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are confident, resilient and caring. They conduct themselves impeccably and are rightly proud of their school. Pupils feel able to navigate their lives courageously.

One pupil summarised this, describing school and life by saying, 'We all work together and build the strength to ride the waves of the ocean.' The school's values of love, respect and courage are known and understood deeply by pupils and staff. Pupils have exceptionally strong relationships with each other and staff.

Pupils make a highly positive contribution to each other's well-being. For example, pupils take on responsibilities such as being part of the school's Christian values team, 'eco-warri...ors', librarians and prefects. Staff have the highest expectations for pupils' behaviour.

Bullying is taken very seriously. Any behaviour incidents are resolved positively and swiftly. Pupils feel very safe and are happy.

Pupils achieve well. Outcomes by the end of key stage 2 demonstrate that they are ready for their next stage of education consistently. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified quickly.

Disadvantaged pupils, including pupils with SEND, are supported effectively. The school promotes pupils' good attendance highly effectively. Leaders build a strong culture which prioritises regular attendance and punctuality successfully.

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

The school teaches phonics and early reading in an exemplary way. Staff are well trained and implement a systematic and rigorous approach. Reading books to help early readers are matched closely to the sounds that pupils know.

If any pupils fall behind, they receive extra help that enables them to catch up to their peers quickly. Pupils develop a love of books, choosing titles from the school's '40 favourite books' selection eagerly. Pupils talk confidently about different texts, genres and types of stories used within the curriculum.

In Reception, children enjoy sharing 'books of the week' with their classes and are taught to read through precise phonics teaching that builds children's learning strongly. This helps them to become fluent, confident readers.

Across the curriculum, the school is highly ambitious for every pupil.

The school works tenaciously to support disadvantaged pupils, including pupils with SEND. This is reflected through thoughtful adaptations to the curriculum where needed. In some subjects, such as mathematics and geography, the curriculum equips pupils with key knowledge and skills clearly.

Teachers implement sequences of lessons systematically. This helps pupils to build their learning cumulatively over time. Work in books for these subjects shows that learning is consistent and secure.

Where the curriculum is developed fully, teachers check how well pupils know and understand appropriately. In some subjects, however, the school is still identifying the specific knowledge that pupils need to embed. This means that in those subjects staff do not check pupils' learning as precisely, and some pupils do not always build on their prior knowledge and learn as effectively as they could.

Children's personal, social and emotional development starts strongly in the early years and grows to become a distinguished part of school life. In Reception, children play and work together positively. Children are highly engaged in their learning such as moving using crates and ropes, gardening and helping each other during messy play.

There is a clear focus on language building and social understanding. Activities are planned carefully to help children enjoy the wide range of resources available in the classrooms and outdoors. This helps to build children's confidence and independence.

Across the school, pupils learn how to keep physically and mentally healthy, including when online. Pupils with SEND and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds consistently benefit from a variety of engaging opportunities. For example, theatre groups, sports clubs, knitting and Lego clubs all support pupils' wider development skilfully.

Trips and visits are deliberately linked to the curriculum. For example, when learning about rivers, pupils visit the River Test, and when learning about Earth and Space pupils visit a planetarium. Residential trips are highly valued and build pupils' confidence expertly.

These opportunities are successful in helping pupils, as one member of staff said, 'take managed risks and be out of their comfort zones'.

Governors share an ambitious vision and know the school incredibly well. They work closely and engage with staff excellently, offering high-quality challenge and support.

Leaders are highly skilled. They support staff very well with issues such as workload and well-being. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive and appreciate the efforts of all staff at the school.

One parent captured the thoughts of many, stating, 'The ethos of 'love, respect, and courage' shines through every aspect of the school. I can't praise staff highly enough.'

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, the school has not developed the curriculum to identify the precise knowledge and vocabulary that they want pupils to learn clearly enough. This leads to a small number of pupils not achieving as well as they could, including in the early years. The school should ensure that knowledge and skills build effectively for all pupils across all curriculum subjects and areas of learning.

• Assessment information is not always precise enough to identify what pupils know and understand. This means that some pupils have gaps in their subject-specific knowledge and do not build on their prior knowledge as effectively as possible. The school needs to ensure that teachers check what pupils know and can do consistently and effectively across the curriculum.

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