The Good Shepherd Trust Academies in partnership with Guildford Diocese Educational Trust The Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford, GU2 7UP Tel: 01483 450423

REPLICA SECTION 8 VISIT TO ST JOHN’S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL 24, February 2016 Introduction St John’s C of E Primary School became an academy with The Good Shepherd Trust in November 2013 following an unsettled period for the school. In April 2015 the Governors and Good Shepherd Trust appointed a substantive headteacher. At the beginning of this academic year, a small number of teaching staff changes took place and one more teacher left at Christmas.

Context This was the fifth monitoring visit since the school was became an academy within the Good Shepherd Trust. During the visit, I held meetings with headteacher and deputy head, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Good Shepherd Trust’s Education Consultant. I evaluated the school improvement and selfevaluation documents, as well as visiting lessons to look at the work of teachers and pupils in all year groups. I looked at assessment information showing the progress that pupils make, as well as documentation showing the monitoring of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. I was very grateful for the help given to me and for the time made available by several people to discuss the actions taken to improve the academy’s work in the recent past.

MAIN FINDINGS The school has made good progress this year in its endeavours to be judged as good in an Ofsted inspection, yet still has further work to do for that to be consistent across the school. Leaders have prioritised improving the impact of teaching on learning, in which they are having considerable success. However, whilst improvements in teaching have been made so that much of it is good, not all of it is consistently so. Pupils are making better progress in their learning this year than before across the school. Behaviour is good, as is pupils’ personal development. Attendance has improved this year to be closer to national averages. Leadership and management The headteacher has worked with great dynamism with senior leaders and governors to move the school forward. The decisive action taken to improve leadership, and the quality of teaching and learning, has laid firmer foundations for a stronger future. The responsibilities of leaders are better defined to be in line with school improvement priorities: the contribution of middle leaders has been strengthened. As a result, they understand how they are to be held to account for the aspects of the school’s work for which they are responsible. The procedures for the performance management of teachers have been strengthened and are now closely linked to the national teachers’ standards. Governors have scrutinised this process to ensure only good performance is rewarded. Good quality self evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for development is evident. Stemming from this, the development plan has clear actions which has enabled governors to hold leaders to account for the performance of the academy. The headteacher and governors are aware that the plan will soon need further updating as the school has moved further along its journey. The headteacher, senior leaders and governors are successfully developing a culture of high ambition for the pupils of the school. Actions taken by the headteacher have impacted positively on the quality of teaching and learning. As a result, outcomes for pupils are improving effectively. In 2015, the standards that pupils reached at the end of Key Stage 2 improved significantly from those of the previous year. However overall attainment in Key Stage 1 is not yet reaching national averages. Leaders ensure that the extra funding received for disadvantaged pupils is spent effectively. The progress that this group of pupils makes is diligently tracked, and support is put in place to help those pupils who require it. As a result, their progress is now closer to the national picture.

1

The Good Shepherd Trust Academies in partnership with Guildford Diocese Educational Trust The Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford, GU2 7UP Tel: 01483 450423

More robust systems to check the rate of progress that pupils make are in place. As a consequence, the headteacher, other leaders and teachers know which groups of pupils are making good progress and which pupils need more support to improve further. This has led to most groups of pupils making better progress than in the past, yet the headteacher is correct in his judgement that accelerating pupils’ progress even further in a small number of classes is needed. Actions to improve attendance are reaping rewards. Leaders monitor attendance rigorously, following up any persistent absences robustly, issuing penalty notices where appropriate. However, an effective rewards system for good and improving attendance has also had a positive effect. As a result, overall attendance is now closer to the national average. Senior leaders remain determined to improve attendance even further. Parents are increasingly positive about the improvements that the school has made in the recent past. The open approach adopted by leaders in building closer relationships with parents has made a good impact and more parents than ever are supportive of the school’s work. Parents understand the importance of children arriving punctually to school, being prepared for learning. They welcome the access afforded through Tapestry so they can support their children in learning. The curriculum has been redesigned to offer a broader balance through a range of carefully thought out opportunities for all pupils to develop more independent skills in enquiry and research, as well as providing ranges of themed learning times. Equally the curriculum securely teaches fundamental values of democracy and rule making, for example. These are underpinned well by the whole school values that are embedding themselves well into the school’s ethos. Through these approaches the school seeks to extend pupils horizons and raise their aspirations. Governance Governors bring a wide range of complementary skills to bear in undertaking their role (including keeping pupils safe). The governors have a growing understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and what the priorities for the next stage of development are. They use their visits to school wisely, seeing for themselves what impact leaders’ actions are having in the classroom. The governors also ensure that appropriate use is made of the additional pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils. However, the school website does not show a report on the impact of this spending in the last school year. This needs to be remedied. Detailed reports from the headteacher further ensure that governors have the information they require. Their capacity to provide robust challenge to leaders is developing well now allowing governors to hold leaders to account for the effects of their actions. The governing body fulfils its statutory responsibilities, including making sure that pupils are kept safe by regularly checking on the school’s arrangements for safeguarding. Safeguarding in the school is effective. Teaching and Learning The quality of teaching is improving because of the action the headteacher and other leaders have taken. However, a lack of consistently good teaching is still evident on occasions. Overall, school records reflect improvements in individual teachers’ skills as a result of support and challenge. Teachers have welcomed the training provided, resulting in increased confidence and raised expectations for themselves and their pupils. Teachers are self-reflective and use professional discussion to share ideas and support each other. Most teachers plan work which is usually interesting and engaging for pupils. There are many activities which encourage pupils to think for themselves and to work collaboratively. This motivates pupils, speeds up progress and secures positive attitudes to learning. Similarly, those pupils who find learning difficult have appropriate resources to support their learning. Teachers now provide better-quality feedback to pupils about their work. During joint visits to lessons between the inspector and headteacher, some good examples where pupils and adults were discussing the pupils’ work, enabling the pupils to make accelerated progress and produce work of a higher quality were observed. The adults challenged the pupils to consider what was good about their work and what

2

The Good Shepherd Trust Academies in partnership with Guildford Diocese Educational Trust The Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford, GU2 7UP Tel: 01483 450423

could be improved. However, a small amount of teaching is not sharply focused enough on what pupils are expected to learn from tasks set; this limits their progress considerably. In a growing number of lessons pupils help each other to succeed and to learn from each other’s mistakes, and try different ways of solving problems. The written commentary in pupils’ books is also helping pupils to improve their work in a growing number of classes, effective use being made of ‘green and purple pen’ to encourage pupils’ response to their learning. The school has introduced new systems to track the progress that pupils are making in the new National Curriculum. As a result, leaders and most teachers have a good understanding of where any gaps in pupils’ knowledge lie. Where pupils are identified as being at risk of falling behind, extra support is swiftly put into place to help them catch up. In most lessons, teaching assistants are used effectively to promote learning. This is because they have clear subject knowledge and know what teachers expect of them. Their skills and confidence in supporting children are improving in many cases. The basic skills of spelling, punctuation and grammar are being taught effectively. Pupils apply these skills with growing confidence across a wide range of subjects. Teachers’ expectations are usually high across all areas of the curriculum.

Behaviour, personal development and welfare These aspects are a strength of the school. Pupils of all ages behave well in and around the school. They are polite and considerate to adults and to each other. In class they work with good levels of concentration and enthusiasm. Even the youngest can be relied on to organise themselves and get on with their work, even when they are not directly overseen by a member of staff. Pupils are kept safe in school and learn well how to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils are sure that bullying is rare and are that confident they can rely on the adults to step in promptly and resolve any issues if necessary. Pupils enjoy school and display high levels of confidence because of the nurturing environment and constant encouragement by adults. Pupils demonstrate good attitudes to learning, saying that their teachers push them to work hard. All adults in school care diligently for pupils, promoting an ethos of kindness and consideration which pupils quickly learn and adopt. Leaders and teachers provide deliberate and purposeful opportunities to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school is taking proactive steps in preparing pupils for life in modern Britain. This work is rooted in the schools’ Christian ethos and is threaded throughout the curriculum. The school has a caring ethos and is growing in its happiness; a strong commitment to ensuring that all pupils will achieve well and flourish within an inclusive community is developing well. The school’s ethos is being more strongly influenced by the core values of Trust, Love, Cooperation, Courage, Resilience, Respect. These are reinforced through, for example, the worship programme. There is a strong sense of belonging. As one pupil said, ‘We care and respect each other in our community’. Relationships across the school are strong and mutually respectful, reflecting the school’s Christian values. Worship effectively underpins and extends the school’s embedded Christian ethos. The programme is very well planned and delivered by a range of adults with good pupil involvement Parents are increasingly positive about the care and support leaders, teachers and other adults provide. A large number of parents’ comments about this aspect of the school’s work were glowing.

3

The Good Shepherd Trust Academies in partnership with Guildford Diocese Educational Trust The Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford, GU2 7UP Tel: 01483 450423

Outcomes for pupils Recent school data clearly indicates that the progress children have made since Year 2 is likely to bring Year 6 outcomes for expected and above expected to be better than the national picture. Equally overall information shows that pupils are making good progress in most classes across the school in the school from their various starting points. However, this is uneven, as in Year 5 overall progress is not as good as elsewhere in Key Stage 2 and is lower in reading than in writing and mathematics. Senior leaders have set strategies to deal with this shortfall. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs generally make good progress, depending on their level of need. They are supported well especially those who have time in the Nurture class setting where their confidence and self-esteem is developed well, allowing them to make good use of their learning in class at a later stage. In 2015, by the end of Key Stage 2 attainment was in line with national figures in reading and mathematics, whereas in writing they are above those seen elsewhere. This continues the improvement seen since 2013. A small number of pupils attained the higher levels 5 and 6, in writing, mathematics and spelling, punctuation and grammar. Leaders are working closely with teachers to improve the outcomes for the most able as more ‘headroom’ is evident to raise their performance further through greater demands on their thinking skills, as well as harder challenges in the content of their curriculum. In Key Stage 1, however, assessment outcomes were significantly below those recorded in other schools nationally, yet with an improving performance since 2013. Specifically, fewer pupils achieved well enough in both the Year 1 and 2 phonics screening check. This was reflected in the overall lower than average achievement in reading. Currently, achievement in reading by younger pupils is improving through well planned strategies to encourage pupils to read better through using more challenging books and ensuring that they understand what they have read. The phonics teaching programme has been better tuned to meet individual needs. The school’s important emphasis on developing writing skills and pupils’ vocabulary is having a positive effect as well. Writing for different purposes is planned to ensure that pupils can express ideas, give opinions, describe, analyse, imagine and report across the school, with a growing emphasis on pupils being accurate in spelling and grammar use. This is showing better development generally, yet is not always well checked in marking. The improvements in mathematics is improving from the considerable gaps in their understanding of number and basic calculation skills. Improvements are evident this year with growing numbers more sure about the relationship, for example, between multiplication and division calculations. Equally the greater emphasis on operations to apply when solving problems is having an evident impact in many classes. Early years foundation stage Children get off to a good start in the Reception Class because of the high quality of care and very effective provision delivered by teaching and support staff. The early years is led well. Staff work together as a cohesive team and take maximum advantage of the well planned curriculum evident. Because of the quality of provision on offer, most children are already well on track to achieve a good level of development this year, indicating that they will be well prepared for their move into Year 1 when it comes. When children enter the Nursery, very few are working at a typical level of development for their age. Children’s attainment by the end of the Reception Year has risen sharply over the last two years. Teachers act quickly if they see a child who is struggling with their work. Adults ensure that there is a good balance between work that is led by the teacher and opportunities for children to explore ideas for themselves. When children are working independently, adults in the Reception classes are skilled at stepping in at just the right moment to move learning on to the next stage.

4

The Good Shepherd Trust Academies in partnership with Guildford Diocese Educational Trust The Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford, GU2 7UP Tel: 01483 450423

Staff know the children well and have a clear idea of their needs and varying levels of development on joining the school. The early years teachers have placed proper emphasis on children being ready to learn as soon as they start. Accordingly, little time is wasted in providing interesting and stimulating learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Expectation is high. Assessment procedures are well developed and inform next steps in learning for each individual. Because of this, children are challenged appropriately and consequently make good progress. Children are confident, behave well and display good attitudes to learning and to each other. Disabled children and those who have special educational needs are provided for very well, as are those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Child protection and safeguarding arrangements are thorough. There are no breaches of welfare arrangements. Adults are very knowledgeable about the needs of the children and ensure that they are kept safe. There is a good focus on teaching about health and hygiene. For example, the importance of wearing the right clothes when working outside is regularly reinforced by all adults. Recommendations Governors and senior leaders should give careful consideration to the following recommendations for improvement.  Where the quality of teaching is not good, take necessary steps to improve that quality either by stepping up the support available or re-organising staffing to provide more effective classroom practice.  Ensure the impact of recent developments in the reading curriculum are well sustained to enhance pupils’ progress and their enjoyment in reading, especially in Key Stage 1.

Hugh Betterton February 2016

5