St John’s CofE Junior Mixed and Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school that is truly at the heart of its community.

It is a warm and welcoming place. The strong working relationships between all members of the school community benefit everyone. Pupils say they feel happy and safe.

They are proud of the way older pupils help younger pupils. Pupils shared that adults help with any issues immediately.

The school is determined that all pupils will get a good start to their education here.

To realise this, the school provides pupils with a wide range of experiences to expand their horizons. For example, pupils visit the ballet and the opera. They learn to care for the school rabbits.

Pupils' behavio...ur is exemplary. They are highly focused in their lessons. This starts right from the early years, where children show a high level of interest in their play.

They share resources and communicate with their peers positively so that everyone can benefit from the many activities on offer.

Parents and carers are very positive about all the school has to offer. They really appreciate its place as a 'small school in a big city'.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious and coherent curriculum for all pupils, which covers the breadth of the national curriculum. This is ably complemented by a broad range of visits and workshops. The curriculum is designed so that learning builds progressively over time.

For example, in geography, pupils in Year 5 build on their learning in Year 4 about maps successfully. Teachers check carefully that pupils are confident in their prior knowledge and skills before introducing new learning.

Leaders have responded positively to the increased numbers of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

This includes through training and recruiting specialist staff to ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are well met. For example, the school provides dedicated speech and language programmes in early years. However, on occasion, the necessary adaptations are not always provided in lessons.

When this happens, pupils with SEND do not get the most out of their learning.

The school has a very ambitious offer for developing pupils' sporting experiences. Pupils can take part in wide-ranging opportunities such as archery, kayaking and taekwondo.

Pupils say they really enjoy these. They are very proud of the achievements of many of their teams, which do well in competitions. There is a comprehensive offer for music, including tuition in playing a range of instruments.

The school prioritises reading right from the early years. There is a sharp focus on ensuring that children learn phonics swiftly and confidently. The books that pupils take home are carefully matched to the sounds that they know, enabling them to become increasingly fluent.

The school is equally passionate about developing in pupils a love of reading. In early years, there is a dedicated quiet space for reading, which children relish. The whole-school community spends dedicated time reading every day.

Carefully chosen class texts further ignite this love of books.

Pupils behave impeccably around the school. They show consideration to each other and to adults.

From early years upwards, they show a high level of commitment to their learning. For example, in Nursery, children listened carefully and took turns to say the name of their classmates. Leaders ensure, through comprehensive monitoring systems, that pupils attend the school regularly.

Leaders promote pupils' personal development exceptionally well. Pupils socialise with people from across the community. They enjoy serving lunch to elderly churchgoers and spending time with service users at a local Age UK centre.

There are benefits all around when pupils visit a nearby special school. Pupils take an increasingly active role in the local environment by, for example, encouraging their peers to walk or cycle to school to improve local air quality. They debate such topics as whether it ought to be mandatory to give blood.

Such debates teach pupils to approach contentious topics thoughtfully, listening to and respecting each other's views.

Staff are very happy working at the school. They comment that there is a great team atmosphere, where everyone is supportive of one another.

They feel that leaders consult them before making any major changes. They appreciate the regular training that they receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teaching does not provide effective adaptations for pupils with SEND. This limits these pupils' learning of curriculum content. The school should ensure that teachers have the training and support to be able to provide highly effective adaptations for pupils with SEND so that they achieve optimally.

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