St John’s Church of England Primary School, Tisbury

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St John's Church of England Primary School, Tisbury has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils build positive relationships. Everyone is treated as an individual. Adults are routinely on hand to help and support.

In early years, children learn routines and settle quickly. In key stage 2, many pupils behave impeccably in lessons because of the high expectations of staff. Across the school, pupils experience a broad curriculum and achieve well.

Pupils usually get along with one another. They have confidence in their teachers to help them sort out any disagreements. Pupils... enjoy the vast school grounds at social times; many are quick to get on their wellies and explore.

Team and ball games are also a favourite for many.

The school provides opportunities beyond the academic. For example, residential visits are on offer to all pupils in key stage 2.

Pupils raise money for charity. They learn about road safety. Working with artists and visiting a local gallery promote a love of the arts.

The school teaches pupils about leadership and teamwork. For example, 'parliament representatives' and sports ambassadors make a positive contribution to school life. There are some extra-curricular clubs, such as tag rugby.

A minority of parents and carers would like more clubs. There are many opportunities to take part in sporting events.

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

Leaders, including governors, have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and aspects that require refinement.

Committed staff work hard to develop pupils' character and confidence. The school has a consistent approach to teaching pupils to manage their emotions and self-regulate. This ensures that they become responsible for their actions and gain resilience and maturity over time.

Pupils are well prepared for secondary school.

The school's curriculum is suitably ambitious. It now sets out the essential knowledge pupils should know and the order in which they should learn it.

In many subjects, pupils recall prior learning well and connect this to new content. For example, in mathematics, pupils in Years 5 and 6 use their quick recall of multiplication tables to identify common factors, common multiples and prime numbers. The school's focus on learning subject-specific vocabulary is very successful in some subjects.

This builds pupils' knowledge progressively and deepens their understanding over time, for example when learning about invasion in history.

The school is now identifying the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately. However, a minority of parents recognise that, at times, it has taken time for this to happen.

Typically, staff ensure that they adapt their teaching approaches to take account of pupils' SEND. As a result, these pupils access the curriculum successfully, and most achieve very well.

In the early years, children learn how to make friends and the importance of becoming independent right from the start.

Children sustain their concentration when learning in a group and when completing what the school calls 'challenges' independently. Staff model speaking in sentences, and this supports children's early language development effectively.

Staff follow a clearly structured phonics programme.

In Reception, children are eager to learn new sounds and use these to read and write simple words for the first time. Most pupils in Reception and Year 1 are keeping up with the phonics programme. Pupils who need it receive additional targeted teaching.

This is helping these pupils to increase their reading fluency.

In the recent past, a minority of pupils entered Years 3, 4 and 5 with gaps in their spelling knowledge. The school's current work to ensure that all pupils can use and apply their phonics and spelling rules accurately is paying off.

As a result, current pupils are becoming increasingly confident and capable writers.

The school sets clear expectations for staff on how and when to check what pupils know and remember. This ensures that pupils make progress through the curriculum term by term and year on year.

However, there are occasions when teaching does not build firmly on what pupils know already or staff do not deal with misconceptions when they arise. At times, in key stage 1, staff do not prioritise teaching the most complex knowledge in the intended curriculum. This prevents these pupils from excelling.

The school has a well-structured personal development programme. It teaches pupils about online safety, maintaining effective relationships and not to discriminate. Typically, pupils attend well and enjoy school.

The school has recently increased the robustness of its checks on pupils' absence. For example, when pupils have dips in their attendance, the school takes appropriate action.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In key stage 1, there are occasions when staff do not prioritise the teaching of the more complex knowledge in the intended curriculum. A minority of pupils do not get enough practice to secure and deepen their understanding across some sequences of work. The school should ensure that the ambitious curriculum that is planned is being implemented consistently well so that pupils gain the depth of knowledge they need to excel across the curriculum.

• At times, teaching does not address pupils' misconceptions when they arise. This means that a minority of pupils do not achieve consistently well. The school should ensure that staff are alert to and adept at addressing pupils' misconceptions so that they achieve consistently well across the curriculum.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019.

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