St John’s Catholic Primary School, Gravesend

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils make good progress from their starting points to reach standards in English and mathematics which are above average national rates by the end of Key Stage 2. The quality of teaching is consistently good, with examples of outstanding teaching throughout the school.

Teachers have a very good knowledge and understanding of the different subjects they teach, and of pupils' abilities and interests. Pupils have an extremely positive attitude to learning. This makes a strong contribution to their progress.

They behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school, feel completely safe and are not concerned about bullying. The schoo...l promotes all aspects of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development extremely well. The school's curriculum enables pupils to develop a very wide range of skills and interests.

The headteacher and his senior team have focused relentlessly and successfully on raising the quality of teaching. This has significantly improved pupils' progress. Governors are very well aware of the school's strengths and are strongly determined to ensure that they improve still further.

Parents and carers are very supportive of the school and a very large majority say they would recommend it to others. It is not yet an outstanding school because: Pupils are not yet making very rapid progress because school leaders have not yet succeeded in raising the quality of teaching to outstanding. Teachers do not always check pupils' progress thoroughly enough during lessons.

Teachers do not consistently follow up the comments they make on pupils' work to ensure that pupils have acted on their advice.

Information about this school

This school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic backgrounds is well above the national average.

The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above the national average. Just over one in eight pupils is eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding provided for children who are looked after by the local authority and those known to be eligible for free school meals. This proportion is well below the national average.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported through school action is above the national average. Just over one in 10 pupils is supported through school action. The proportion of pupils, about one in 20, who are being supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below the national average.

The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics. Since the school's previous inspection, there have been several changes in staffing. These include the headteacher, who was appointed in January 2013, as well as a number of senior and middle leaders.

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