St James CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St James CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are exceptionally happy, as are staff and parents. Pupils' welfare is paramount and everyone is treated equally.

Parents appreciate how caring the school is. Teachers want all pupils to do well and to become successful and caring adults.

Leaders set pupils high standards of work and behaviour.

Pupils rise to the challenge and work hard. Teachers deliver interesting and fun lessons. Pupils love learning and there is a buzz of excitement.

Teachers work hard to make sure that work set is at the right level for pupils' different abilities a...nd are successful in most subjects. Pupils have good opportunities to practise and recap their learning and take on new work that challenges them. This helps pupils remember what they have learned and keeps them 'on their toes'.

Pupils are proud of their school. They live up to the school values of love, respect and unity. Strong relationships are a feature throughout the school community.

Pupils are very caring to one another and listen well to each other in lessons. They behave well because they understand what respect means. They do not worry about bullying because they feel safe and trust the adults who look after them.

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

Leaders have maintained a good standard of education since the previous inspection. The school has built strong capacity in leadership. Although the headteacher is not currently at school, the acting headteacher continues the drive and sustains the ambition to provide the very best for pupils.

Before children first start school, teachers get to know them really well. Reception children then come into school confident, make friends and settle quickly. Pupils build on this good start, becoming independent learners who do well in all year groups.

The curriculum is well organised and leaders are working to refine it further. It captures pupils' interest and gives them a love of learning. Pupils develop skills and knowledge in a range of interesting topics across the different subject areas.

Teachers bring learning to life with enriching experiences. A 'stone age man' coming to visit Year 3 helped pupils remember more.Subject leaders are looking carefully at what pupils learn and in what order.

In many subjects, including mathematics, this is very well planned, helping pupils retain knowledge. In others, such as history and geography, it is still developing. Leaders have a detailed plan to achieve this in all areas.

Leaders recognise that less-experienced subject leaders will need support to do this.Pupils reach higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics than those achieved nationally. As soon as children enter the school in Reception, they quickly learn letter sounds.

These are then built upon in Year 1 and 2. Teachers identify those pupils who are struggling and give them the extra help they need to succeed. Reading is given a high priority by leaders and this is why pupils' fluency and enjoyment of reading are so high.

Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to learning. There are very few instances of misbehaviour because they enjoy their learning so much. There is little or no cause for upset which might interfere with pupils' learning.

Reception children concentrate both in class and when involved in activities outside. Older pupils say that they enjoy being able to discuss their ideas with their friends in lessons. They enjoy learning about different subjects but particularly like learning 'life skills'.

They say what they learn here 'prepares us not just for now, but for when we are older'.Teachers have a consistent approach when delivering lessons. For example, in number lessons, teachers always provide pupils with apparatus to help them count.

Younger children use buttons or blocks and older pupils use sophisticated number lines to help with decimals.Teachers make sure that disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have the same good opportunities to learn. They make sure these pupils get extra help when they need it.

Teachers also make sure that they are given time to practise their skills. As with other pupils, this helps them to remember their learning. Pupils with SEND are regular attenders at the school's many extra-curricular clubs.

This builds confidence and resilience that they then bring to their learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and governors put pupils' safety above all else.

Staff know exactly what to do if they have a concern about a pupil's safety.

Leaders work effectively with outside agencies to make sure that pupils and families get the help they need to ensure that the children succeed at school.

Teachers help pupils to understand how to stay safe outside of school as part of the life skills curriculum.

Pupils are taught about the dangers of giving personal information when online and what to do if ever they feel scared or threatened.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders' plans for curriculum development highlight the order in which subjects will be reviewed, the development of skills within a subject and a review of the sequence of learning. Where this has already been undertaken, in subjects such as mathematics, religious education, science and physical education, pupils are making strong progress.

Leaders are focused on the sequencing of learning from Reception to Year 6 in all subjects. Leaders need to complete this work for history, geography and design and technology, so that the sequence in these subjects is as detailed as it is in other subjects. .

Although leadership is strong overall, some subject leaders are new to their roles. Senior leaders are aware that these less-experienced middle leaders will need support as they review the curriculum further to ensure that pupils can access a high-quality curriculum across a full range of 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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged St James CofE Primary School to be good on 10–11 February 2016.

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