St John’s CofE Primary School, Cliviger

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St John's C of E Primary School, Cliviger continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St John's C of E Primary School are delightful. They make friends easily because they care about each other.

Each day they live out the school's Christian values by being kind and helpful towards each other. At breaktimes, they play happily with their friends from different year groups.

Pupils enjoy being part of this close-knit, family-oriented and nurturing school.

All pupils receive a warm welcome.

Pupils are proud of their school. They arrive each day eager to learn.

They are confident in talking about what they have learn...ed across the curriculum. 'Welly Wednesdays' and fun-filled 'Family Fridays' are highlights of their week.

Pupils strive to live up to the high expectations that staff have of them academically, socially and emotionally.

They are polite, hard-working and behave well. Pupils know that staff reward and celebrate good behaviour. They achieve well across a range of subjects.

Pupils appreciate being able to talk to staff if anything bothers them. They know that staff will do their best to help them. They know what bullying is and why it is wrong.

Leaders act quickly to resolve any problems that arise. This helps pupils to feel safe in school.

Pupils enjoy a varied range of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum to broaden their experiences.

Older pupils contribute to decision-making in the school through their roles as school councillors and play leaders. Parents and carers have very positive views of the school. A typical comment was, 'This is a brilliant school.'



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

Leaders have built a curriculum that reflects their high aspirations for all pupils. This includes disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have ensured that the curriculum is well designed, broad and balanced and that pupils achieve well.

In most subjects, the curriculum is well established and staff understand it. Leaders have thought carefully about what they want pupils to learn and in what order. They have ensured that the curriculum is planned so that pupils extend their vocabulary in each subject.

Pupils have regular opportunities to revisit prior learning. Consequently, they can remember more over time.

In a small number of subjects, leaders have only recently started to identify the important knowledge that they want pupils to acquire.

This means that at times teachers are less certain about what they should teach and check. As a result, in these subjects, recall of learning for some pupils is not as strong as it is in other subjects.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

They explain new learning clearly. They help pupils to learn and remember important knowledge and vocabulary. They also provide opportunities for pupils to revisit previous learning, which helps them to recall key information.

However, at times teachers do not check effectively enough that pupils know and remember what they have learned. Sometimes this prevents them from understanding how well pupils have taken in new knowledge.

A love of reading is woven throughout the school.

Leaders have placed reading at the centre of the school's curriculum. They have thought carefully about which high-quality books pupils will read as they move through the school. They have recently introduced a new early reading curriculum and ensured that staff have undertaken training to implement this new approach.

Pupils systematically build their knowledge of letters and sounds. Teachers make frequent checks to ensure that pupils remember the necessary phonic knowledge. If pupils fall behind, staff give effective support to enable them to catch up.

Leaders have effective systems for identifying the specific needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils are well supported. They have individual plans which teachers tailor to their needs.

Teachers use these plans well to help pupils with SEND to follow the same curriculum as their peers.

Pupils' behaviour is exceptional. They are focused and work hard in lessons.

Leaders ensure that disruption to learning is rare. Pupils collaborate well and work positively with each other. Children in the early years benefit from well-established routines.

They take part in their learning with enthusiasm.

Leaders prioritise pupils' personal development. They take full advantage of the uniqueness of their rural setting.

They ensure that the curriculum is well planned to allow opportunities for pupils' social, moral, cultural and spiritual development. They aim to help pupils become resilient, responsible and healthy citizens. Staff encourage pupils to develop new talents and to live healthy lives.

Much of this comes through an extensive range of out-of-school activities and outdoor learning opportunities. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to develop leadership skills and responsibility. They flourish in leadership roles, such as being reading or sports ambassadors.

Staff say that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being. They work hard because they want the best for pupils in their care. Members of staff explained that they enjoy their job and are proud to work at St John's.

Governors are supportive of leaders. They are very proud of what the school has achieved. They are dedicated to working with leaders to continue to improve the school further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

School leaders and staff take their responsibility for the safety and care of pupils very seriously. Leaders are keenly aware of issues within the local community that have an impact on school life and learning.

Staff know the pupils very well. Regular training ensures that all staff and governors have a clear and robust understanding of their safeguarding duty. Staff act quickly should they have any concerns.

They keep precise and detailed records of the actions that they take to keep pupils safe. They carry out appropriate checks on all who work at the school.

Pupils have a good awareness of keeping safe, both online and more widely in their community.

They told the inspector that they know the importance of reporting any concerns to adults.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not identified in enough detail the precise knowledge that they want pupils to acquire. As a result, some teachers are not clear enough about the most important knowledge that they should teach and check.

Consequently, there are gaps in some pupils' knowledge over time. Leaders should make sure that in all subjects teachers are aware of the essential knowledge that pupils should acquire and when they should acquire it. ? At times, teachers do not check well enough that pupils fully understand what they have taught them.

This prevents some pupils from building their knowledge securely on what they already know. Leaders should ensure that all teachers identify pupils' next steps in learning effectively.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 March 2014.