St John's CofE Primary School

Inspection report
Unique Reference Number Local Authority Inspection number Inspection dates Reporting inspector 112849 Derbyshire 311028 1516 October 2008 Jim Henry

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Number on roll School (total) Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Date of previous school inspection Date of previous funded early education inspection Date of previous childcare inspection School address

Primary Community 311 Mixed 369 0

75 The governing body Mr Steve Freeborne Mrs Susan Hannath 31 January 2005 Not previously inspected Not previously inspected Dannah Street Ripley Derbyshire DE5 3BD 01773742457 01773 742457

Telephone number Fax number

Age group Inspection dates Inspection number

311 1516 October 2008 311028

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Crown copyright 2008 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction
The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

Description of the school

St John's Church of England school is situated in Ripley, Derbyshire. It is larger than most other primary schools. There is Early Years Foundation Stage provision (EYFS), including a nursery that offers part time education for children aged 3 to 5 years. The majority of pupils come from White British families and are drawn from the local area. The percentages of pupils who are from minority ethnic groups and those whose first language is not English are below the national average. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including pupils with a statement of special educational need, is slightly above the national average. The school has a National Healthy School Award and National School Sport Activemark.

Key for inspection grades

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness of the school

Grade: 3 This is a satisfactory school. It also has some good features. A positive feature of the school is the provision in the EYFS, resulting in children having a good start to their education at St John's. All staff put a high priority on pupils' personal development and this is a strength of the school. As a consequence, with broadly average standards, pupils are soundly prepared for their future education. Pupils' behaviour is good in class and around the school. They have positive attitudes to their learning and show care and consideration for others. Teaching and learning is satisfactory overall and sometimes good. However, where teachers do not sufficiently challenge pupils through the questions they ask or the tasks they set, pupils make satisfactory rather than good progress. The headteacher and senior staff are aware that teaching and learning are not yet good throughout the whole school and are tackling the issue in order to increase the level of challenge for pupils. The satisfactory curriculum is enriched with many opportunities for sport, visits and visitors. For example, many Year 4 pupils enthusiastically take part in friendly, yet competitive, games of 'Danger-Ball' at lunch time. The school is developing links between the different subjects in the curriculum in order effectively to meet the needs of pupils but this is not consistent across the whole school. Children enter the Nursery with the personal skills and knowledge that are normally expected for their age. However, their skills are lower in communication, language and literacy and some elements of mathematical development. They make good progress in the EYFS and most enter Year 1 ready to work within the National Curriculum. From this starting point, pupils make satisfactory progress by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. In 2008, Year 2 standards were broadly average in reading and mathematics but below average in writing. In 2007, by the end of Year 6, standards in English were above the national average, science was in line and mathematics slightly below. Provisional results in 2008 were similar to 2007. However, the pace and rate of pupil progress is inconsistent, particularly for the more able boys. Leadership and management across the school are satisfactory. The new leadership teams are developing a more cutting edge to their roles in monitoring the work of the school but this is work in progress. A new tracking system has been introduced to identify and tackle pupil underperformance but this is yet to fully impact on accelerating the rate of pupil progress. The headteacher, senior leaders and the governors are aware of the strengths of the school and are addressing the weaknesses. The school has satisfactory capacity to improve further.

Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

Grade: 2 Children make good progress, particularly in their personal and social development. Girls' attainment is higher than boys. To improve their skills, the school has taken effective action to make 'numbers for counting' and learning to write more interesting for boys. This is successful, as boys are beginning to use early writing skills in independently chosen activities. Parents say their children settle into school quickly and staff are friendly and approachable. The caring ethos helps children to gain confidence and effectively supports their personal development. Good attention is given to children's welfare, safety and well being and in helping children gain a good early understanding of what is needed to keep fit and healthy. Teaching

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is good and the curriculum well planned. Activities meet the range of learners' needs, excite children and stimulate learning. A good example of this was apparent when nursery children used a torch to find a spider. Children experience a good balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities, both inside and outside. Provision is well led and managed. The EYFS leader works effectively with the EYFS team to improve provision and raise standards and achievement. She has a clear knowledge of the strengths and areas for improvement.

What the school should do to improve further

Effectively tackle pupil underperformance in order to increase the rate of pupil progress, especially for more able boys. Strengthen and improve teaching to increase the level of pace and challenge in lessons so that teaching is consistently good or better. Focus the role and responsibilities of the new leadership teams on monitoring and evaluating the work of the school in order to raise standards, particularly in writing and mathematics.

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

Achievement and standards

Grade: 3 Standards are broadly average and pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Children leave the EYFS with the expected standards. In 2008, by the end of Year 2, standards were average in reading and mathematics but attainment in writing was below that expected nationally. While girls achieved well, boys struggled with reading, writing and mathematics with few attaining the higher levels. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 over time have been above average in English and mathematics but attainment fell in mathematics in 2007 to slightly below that expected nationally. The progress made by pupils who took the Key Stage 2 tests in 2007 showed some underperformance in English, mathematics and science. Provisional data show that standards in 2008 remained in line with 2007 overall with fewer boys achieving the higher level in English. However, the progress of most pupils is beginning to be improved due to increasingly effective pupil tracking and monitoring. Nonetheless, these initiatives have yet to fully impact on the progress of all pupils.

Personal development and well-being

Grade: 2 Pupils' spiritual, moral and cultural development is good. Assemblies provide opportunities for reflection and prayer. There are good links with the local parish church and pupils' awareness of the wider world is developed effectively through events such as the recent European awareness week. Attendance is satisfactory. Pupils say how much they enjoy school and this is supported by their keen desire to participate and learn. A good range of sporting opportunities encourages pupils to develop healthy lifestyles. Pupils feel safe in school. The school's initiatives against bullying are very effective in encouraging responsible, considerate behaviour. There is an effective school council that has been involved in developments such as the review of the dining room and school meals. Pupils make an effective contribution to the community through taking responsibilities in school, such as Playground Friends and Paper Monitors as part of the

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ECO School Project. They also support local and international charities such as the annual Poppy Appeal and Oxfam.

Quality of provision
Teaching and learning
Grade: 3 The purpose of lessons is shared with pupils so that they know what they are to learn and this supports their progress. Teachers plan lessons satisfactorily and try to take account of the full range of learners needs. However, in some lessons, the higher attaining pupils are not challenged enough. Teaching assistants soundly support groups of pupils and individuals, particularly those who find learning difficult, to help them to achieve satisfactorily. In the best lessons there is good use of questions that challenge pupils to explain and refine their ideas. This is not the case in all lessons and in some there is insufficient opportunity for pupils to contribute to the lesson or to take responsibility for their own learning. Marking is regular and often encouraging but it does not always inform pupils how to improve their work or how well they are achieving against their learning targets.

Curriculum and other activities

Grade: 3 The curriculum makes satisfactory provision for the range of pupils' needs. The new curriculum leadership team is beginning to identify relevant areas for improvement as a result of more robust analyses of test results. For example, in literacy, the development of boys' writing skills is a priority. The school has put appropriate strategies in place to raise standards, but their impact is yet to be fully realised. The provision for personal, social, health and citizenship education is good. The school is starting to make clearer links between subjects, so that pupils are motivated and see relevance in their learning. However this is not yet consistently occurring in all classes. Enrichment of the curriculum is a strong feature of the school. Pupils have many opportunities to learn from visitors and specialists, visits, lunchtime and after-school clubs as well as special themed weeks.

Care, guidance and support

Grade: 3 The school has a strong and caring ethos where pupils feel valued and safe. Staff have a dedicated commitment to the pastoral care of pupils and this effectively supports pupils' personal development and well-being. The safeguarding procedures meet all the legal requirements and the school provides a safe and secure environment. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress and are supported by clear education plans that provide helpful advice from teachers and teaching assistants. While the majority of pupils know what they have to do to improve, they do not receive targets that challenge them sufficiently, especially the more able.

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Leadership and management

Grade: 3 The headteacher has effectively established new leadership teams that are focused on raising standards and the achievement of pupils. However, their monitoring and evaluating roles are not yet rigorous enough to have the best possible impact on raising standards and improving teaching. Even so, the situation is improving well. Self-evaluation is satisfactory and the priorities for improvement are accurate and clearly articulated. The school successfully promotes community cohesion through strong links with the parish and through topic weeks that focus on other cultures and faiths. While there is a sound whole school target setting process, this is not robust enough. Governors support the school well and are soundly developing their monitoring and evaluation role in order more effectively to hold the school accountable for its performance. The majority of parents are supportive of the school. One parent wrote 'My daughter often comes home full of stories about what she has learnt and how much fun she has at school'. However, a minority of parents feel that communication between school and home could be improved.

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Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsteds website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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Annex A

Inspection judgements
Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

School Overall

Overall effectiveness
How effective,efficient and inclusive is the provision of education,integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? The capacity to make any necessary improvements 3 Yes 2 3

Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

How effective is the provision in meeting the needs of children in the EYFS? How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed? 2 2 2 2 2 2

Achievement and standards

How well do learners achieve? The standards reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress
1

3 3 3 3

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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Personal development and well-being

How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles The extent to which learners adopt safe practices The extent to which learners enjoy their education The attendance of learners The behaviour of learners The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3

The quality of provision

How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of learners' needs? How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? How well are learners cared for, guided and supported? 3 3 3

Leadership and management

How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? Does this school require special measures? Does this school require a notice to improve? 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 Yes No No

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Annex B

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 October 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of St John's Church of England Primary School, Ripley, Derbyshire. DE5 3BD. I am writing to thank you for making us feel welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed watching you work hard for your teachers in lessons. The headteacher and all the other staff look after you well and work hard to help you enjoy school. The school gives you a sound education and by the time you leave, most of you reach standards close to those that are normally expected. Here are some of the things that we found out.

You enjoy school and being with your friends. You behave well and are keen to learn and to do your best. You treat each other with respect and are always willing to help around school. You enjoy taking part in the activities that the school offers. You are always willing to help other people in the community through supporting a number of charities.

To help make sure you do better we have asked teachers and other adults who look after you to do three things. Firstly, find out quickly if anybody is not doing as well as they could and help them so that everyone makes better progress, especially the boys. Secondly, I have asked them to improve the teaching to make sure that all lessons are good. Finally, I have asked the senior leaders and teachers of the school to make regular checks on the how well the school is doing in order to raise standards. You can help by continuing to work hard and supporting one another. Good luck for the future. Jim Henry Lead inspector