St Clement’s Church of England Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Clement's Church of England Academy continues to be a good school.The headteacher of this school is Devina Shryane.

The school is part of the Birmingham Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Dr Christopher Mansell, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sarah Smith.

What is it like to attend this school?

St Clement's is a caring and inclusive school.

There are high expectations for all pupils, and many pupils reach these expectations. Pupils are polite, and there are warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils en...joy their time in school.

They behave well and feel safe. They say that bullying does sometimes happen, but they trust staff to sort things out quickly.

The school is ambitious for all pupils, both academically and personally.

Their wider development is a priority for the school. Pupils know how to stay safe. They learn about healthy relationships and understand why everyone should be treated equally, regardless of any differences.

Pastoral support for pupils is strong. The school has planned well for pupils to experience a wide range of opportunities to develop their talents and interests, and to gain in confidence and resilience.

The many extra opportunities that are provided for pupils enable them to take on positions of leadership or responsibility, so they are prepared for everyday life and the next stage of their education effectively.

Pupils enjoy the variety of roles available to them, including their work in the community. This includes organising a Christmas lunch for local residents, where pupils serve the meal and provide the entertainment.

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

The school's high expectations begin in early years.

Phonics is prioritised to enable them to develop effective reading skills. Staff are trained to deliver phonics to a high standard. The emphasis on small groups and rigorous assessment practices ensures that any gaps are quickly identified.

Children receive extra sessions, if necessary, so that they are able to keep up. This additional support continues into key stage 2 for pupils who need it.When children start to learn phonics, they also learn letter shapes and how to hold a pencil correctly.

These are the first steps towards handwriting, and children in the early years make a good start in this. The work presented by many pupils in upper key stage 2 is appropriate for their age.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well within their classes.

Work is suitably adapted so that they are able to work towards the same learning outcomes as their peers. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

Mathematics is a well-established subject.

Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge and effective assessment practices. Pupils say that they enjoy mathematics, and they achieve well. However, some subjects are not as well planned.

In a few foundation subjects, the key knowledge pupils need to learn is not clearly defined. This makes it difficult for teachers to know precisely what information pupils need to learn and remember, and results in some less precise selection of activities, which do not focus on the key learning. Some subject leaders are new in post and have not received sufficient support to enable them to evaluate the learning in their subject areas and the developments needed to improve it.

This prevents pupils in some subjects from achieving the same high standard as elsewhere in the curriculum.

Although attendance is similar to other schools nationally, the school continues to work hard to keep improving it. They understand the importance of regular attendance if pupils are to achieve as well as they can.

The school works effectively with parents to ensure that those who find it difficult to maintain regular attendance are supported to improve it.

Behaviour across the school is good. There are clear expectations of behaviour, which pupils respond well to.

They say that the rules, rewards and consequences are fair. Pupils take turns and engage with playground games with enthusiasm and consideration for others.

There is a strong team ethos at St Clement's.

Staff speak highly of the support they receive, saying that leaders have an open-door policy and other staff are always ready to help. During a recent unsettled period, leaders rightly focused on the maintenance of standards and routines for the benefit of all pupils. Now that staffing is more stable, there is a renewed emphasis on curriculum development.

Staff appreciate the additional opportunities, including professional development, that the trust provides.

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 foundation subjects, it is not clear what precise knowledge and skills pupils should know and remember.

As a result, teachers do not consistently select activities which enable pupils to learn the key information they need. The school should prioritise and make clear the important knowledge, skills and concepts they want pupils to learn over time, and how this relates to the selection of key activities. ? The leadership of some subjects is at an earlier stage of development.

This has limited the school's work to embed the planned curriculum. The school should continue to develop subject leadership so that teachers are supported to gain the knowledge they need to deliver the intended curriculum consistently and securely in all subjects.

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 May 2014.