Key Information
CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION:
Total roll: 223
- Pupils with SEN: 8.5% (Nationally, 17.1%)
- The children for whom we receive a "Pupil Premium" budget is very low at 4.9%. (11 children) We spend this budget to address children`s needs, for example by extra Teaching Assistant support, by enriching the curriculum for them, or helping with school uniform or the purchase of school milk.
- % Unauthorised Absence: 0.51%, Kent: 0.7%, National: 0.7%
- % Authorised Absence: 2.82%, Kent: 4.2%, National: 4.3%
- TOTAL ABSENCE: 3.32%
EARLY YEARS:
Our children enjoy an excellent start to their school life in our Early Years department. Data produced by KCC shows that our children achieve well in all areas of the Early Years profile, when compared with children locally and nationally.
YEAR 1 Phonics test:
% of children scoring 32+ (out of 40) = 60% (Kent 53%, National: 58%)
Key data: Autumn Term 2012
Key Stage 1 2012:
School Kent National(2011)
Reading % L2+ 97 86 87
Writing % L2+ 97 82 83
Maths % L2+ 97 90 91
Reading %L3 47 27 27
Writing %L3 27 12 14
Maths %L3 27 21 22
For the last three years DFE/OFSTED data shows that attainment has been significantly above the corresponding County and National value.
Key Stage 2 2012:
English %L4+ 88 83 85
Maths %L4+ 97 82 84
ENG AND MATHS %L4+ 88 77 79
English % L5 55 36 37
Maths %L5 67 39 39
English AND Maths %L5 49 27 27
For the last three years DFE/OFSTED data shows that attainment has been significantly above the corresponding County and National value.
Indeed, progress from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 is a strength of the school.
Data from the DfE in 2011 has placed St. John`s in the top 8% of all schools nationally for the Value Added from KS1 - KS2.
PESE (11+) 2012/13:
19 children took the Kent PESE tests. 11 were given Grammar school assessments.
- This is 33% of the class and 58% of those who took it.
Please click on the link below to see our Ofsted Report that was carried out in March 2010.
The following is the Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools:-
Aided School
Diocese of Canterbury
Kent LEA
Inspected on 23 April 2010
Last inspected: November 2006
School Number: 118753
Headteacher: Mr Tim Harrington
Inspector: Mrs Virginia Corbyn
Inspector number: 86
SCHOOL CONTEXT
St John’s Church of England Primary School is an average-sized primary school situated on the edge of Maidstone. St John’s Church is a local ecumenical project and meets in the school hall each Sunday. It does not have a separate church building. The school has an average proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Most, but not all, of these pupils have emotional and behavioural difficulties or speech, communication and language difficulties. Most pupils come from White British backgrounds. A few are from a variety of ethnic groups and of faiths other than Christianity. The recent OfSTED report found that outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils are good. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was found to be outstanding.
SUMMARY JUDGEMENT: - GRADE 1
St John’s Church of England Primary School is an outstanding Church school.
ESTABLISHED STRENGTHS
• The Christian character of the school which staff, parents and governors value and support.
• A strong commitment to the spiritual development of all pupils underpinned by the partnership with the vicar and the imaginative development of Collective Worship by the co-ordinator.
• The high profile given to Religious Education (RE) in the school under the leadership of an enthusiastic subject leader.
• The creative links which are growing between the school and the new vicar.
FOCUS FOR DEVELOPMENT
• Ensure that the vision of the governing body in incorporating Christian values into school policies is shared and owned by all stakeholders.
• Develop pupils’ understanding of Christian spirituality.
• Create opportunities for parents to experience Collective Worship.
• Reinforce teachers’ understanding of the interdependence of Attainment Target 1 (learning about religion) and Attainment Target 2 (learning from religion) in RE.
How well does the school, through its distinctive Christian character, meet the needs of all learners? GRADE 1: outstanding.
One parent summarised her thinking about the school saying, “A school without religion is a school without a soul”. All of the parents interviewed said that the fact that this was a Church school was a significant factor in their school selection. They believe that their children benefit from the Christian values which underpin the school’s ethos by developing attitudes of respect and care for others. The governing body has worked hard to develop more specific Christian values within all school policies following Diocesan training. This must now extend to the prospectus, website and all stakeholders, especially pupils and parents, in order to further enrich the school’s distinctive Christian character. The coordinator for Collective Worship has created many opportunities to meet the spiritual needs of the pupils, both within worship but also beyond. A prayer group has been established and a display explains what they pray for each week. A box, which is often filled, enables pupils to offer their requests for prayer. In partnership with the vicar, a Stations of the Cross experience was created with contributions from all classes to mark Easter. This was recalled enthusiastically by pupils as making Easter into a meaningful time in school. The school needs to ensure that such examples of Christian spirituality are a regular feature of its community life, especially in the development of the outdoor environment. All relationships in the school are marked by care and a desire to serve. This extends to the school’s links with the local parish and community through which pupils are encouraged to become responsible citizens. Parents spoke about the loving inclusion offered by the school, especially the way in which older pupils nurture their younger friends. Since the last inspection, the foyer has been enhanced by a stained glass window containing a cross which greets all who enter the building. The headteacher believes that this expresses the key Christian message of the school community.
What is the impact of Collective Worship on the school community?
GRADE 1: outstanding.
Pupils enjoy Collective Worship. They spoke about the range of staff and visitors whoregularly lead worship. They feel that are given opportunities to participate such as throughquizzes and action songs. They were attentive and engaged in all aspects of the worship observed. The Collective Worship co-ordinator has developed the Diocesan themes creatively. She has encouraged those who lead worship to work within a clear and simple liturgical structure. The vicar has helped to introduce elements such as the lighting of a candle and a bidding response. The implementation of other ideas to increase the understanding of Anglican belief and practice through worship and through RE have been an important part of the growing partnership with the vicar in her first year in post. A time of quiet reflection has become an integral part of all acts of worship. A questionnaire to parents revealed that they would like the opportunity to join in with school worship. The school still has to respond to this challenge.
How effective is Religious Education in the school? GRADE 1: outstanding.
The RE subject leader has worked hard to address the recommendations of the last inspection. She has embedded the requirements of the Kent Agreed Syllabus, including the need for assessment, within the curriculum of the school. Staff are clear that they must assess pupils’ progress regularly. The data produced by this has shown that standards in RE are rising steadily. A questionnaire carried out in Key Stage 2 by the subject leader has shown that pupils generally enjoy this subject. When interviewed during inspection, pupils described the interesting and varied ways in which RE was taught. They said that RE was important in developing their understanding of beliefs which are different to their own. Parents also expressed this opinion. The teaching observed was either good or outstanding. Pupils demonstrated their learning within the lessons. They communicated this in an articulate and animated way to each other and to the adults in the room. One pupil said that she felt that RE was the subject in which she felt most comfortable in expressing her ideas.The subject leader has identified that some staff are more confident and competent in their teaching of one attainment target in preference to the other. This is an important area for the school to address.
How effective are the leadership and management of the school as a Church school?GRADE 1: outstanding.
The headteacher and the governors have continued to move the school forward since the last inspection by seeking to embed specific Christian values throughout the school curriculum. The school management team has played a key part in this process and, in this way, has developed its own understanding of Church school leadership. Parents’ and pupils’ articulation of Christian values is less developed. Therefore, the governing body needs to extend understanding and support for their vision to all members of the school community.Links with the church and local community are vibrant. A special Christmas service is held in one of the local churches. Parents are invited into school to mark Mothering Sunday. The vicar, who has not been in post for long, has been welcomed as a partner with whom new initiatives and ideas can be grown. Pupils visit the elderly in local care homes and they invite the over 60s into school for afternoon tea which the older pupils prepare. They are enthusiastic fundraisers for local, national and global charities, some of which are Christian. A child in Kenya is supported through the charity ‘Compassion’, for example. These are particular ways in which this school community practically demonstrates its Christian care and concern. These are values which are also lived out in the everyday life of the school.