St John’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is an outstanding school. It is a beacon of light within the community.

Pupils receive an exceptional education. They benefit from remarkable pastoral care. All staff share the same sense of moral purpose.

Staff strive for all pupils to 'believe and succeed'.

The school has extraordinarily high expectations of pupils. Teachers are exceptional role models.

They exhibit the behaviours that they wish pupils to emulate. Pupils know how to conduct themselves. Their behaviour is exemplary.

Bullying is rare.

Pupil absence is low. The most vulnerable pupils are rarely absent from school.

Staff take highly considered action to ...ensure that pupils are in school and safe. Attendance systems are exemplary. The school provides considerable support for many of its families.

School staff are trusted to help families in times of great need. This care helps pupils to attend school and benefit from the learning and support on offer.

The approach to pupils' wider development is remarkable.

Wider opportunities are carefully planned to enrich pupils' interests and experience. The school is acutely aware of the needs of the pupils. Staff go to extraordinary lengths to address inequalities.

They expand pupils' horizons and enrich their cultural capital.

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

The curriculum is ambitious. It is expertly designed.

Learning is systematically and skilfully sequenced to ensure that pupils know and remember more of the subjects that they study. Pupils know that their teachers expect a lot from them. They live up to these high expectations.

The curriculum is consistently and precisely implemented. In lessons, teachers are absolutely clear about the knowledge they want pupils to learn. Staff present information clearly.

Expert checks are undertaken to ensure that pupils acquire the intended learning. Pupils speak with authority about what they know and can do.

The school ensures that pupils learn within an exceptional environment.

Creativity and success are evident everywhere. Pupils appreciate the high-quality resources they access. They treat them with care.

Everyone in school models high expectations.

Staff are highly skilled. All staff receive high-quality professional development.

They constantly reflect on their skills to develop and improve. They use the most current research to inform their practice. Many staff share their expertise with other schools within the trust.

The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified. Urgent action is taken to address need. Creative solutions are found to keep pupils safe and to promote their independence to learn and to achieve.

Pupils with SEND thrive in this school.

The teaching of reading is an extremely high priority. Pupils quickly learn to read with accuracy and fluency.

They begin to learn to read as soon as they enter the school. The curriculum is carefully structured and well taught. Checks on learning are extremely thorough.

Pupils have many opportunities to develop the love of reading. High-quality books are everywhere. Pupils routinely access a range of texts that introduce them to different authors and genre.

They visit the library, reading corners, the reading garage and reflection area. Pupils review books and offer recommendations to others. The librarians are role models.

They are passionate reading advocates with a mission to help their peers love reading as much as they do.

Children are given an outstanding start to their education within the early years. Adults provide extraordinary support.

Children understand routines. They are supported to behave well. They are engrossed in their learning.

They are extremely well prepared for Year 1.

Pupils are systematically taught how to keep healthy and safe. The 'child friendly' safeguarding policy is implemented and understood.

Pupils have a deep understanding of protected characteristics and fairness. They take responsibility for each other. They are school counsellors, technicians, ambassadors, monitors and lifesavers.

Pupils are a credit to their school and their community.

The trust has provided effective governance and support.

The school has a clear vision.

This is based on Christian values which are quietly and humbly lived through a common sense of duty and service. These values shape actions. Morale is extremely high.

Staff feel valued. They rightly describe the school as a place of 'ambition, nourishment and love'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.