Ofsted

In July 2019, Ofsted rated us ‘good‘ (2019). The rating of good applies to all areas: effectiveness of leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; outcomes for pupils; and early years provision.

The report is very positive about our school. Highlights include:

The executive headteacher has ensured that the quality of teaching is good across all year groups, including the early years.

Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

There are good relationships between staff and pupils.

Pupils work hard, concentrate well and enjoy learning.

The very large majority of pupils attain expected standards in reading and writing…Together with their strong progress in personal development, this means pupils are well prepared for the transfer to secondary school.

Teachers engage pupils in interesting and current topics, such as climate change.

Teachers use good quality texts to stimulate pupils’ discussion and deepen pupils’ thinking.

Leaders have designed a curriculum that enhances pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as well as practical life skills.

The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

Opportunities for pupils to reflect, consider and reason are threaded through all aspects of their learning.

Teachers are skilled in encouraging pupils to cooperate and share ideas to develop learning.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and say they feel safe.’

The work of staff to promote respect and tolerance can be seen throughout the school.

Pupils are well behaved and aware of their responsibilities in society.

Pupils are looked after well and are safe in the school.

Leaders have designed a safeguarding aspect in the school’s curriculum to ensure that pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain.

Parents and carers are extremely pleased with the early years provision and how it has developed over recent years. One parent said that her child has had a ‘tremendous amount of support’.

Visit Parent View if you’d like to post your views about St James’ CE Primary, and don’t forget the other ways you can express your views.

Find out more about the inspection process in Ofsted’s guide for parents.

SIAMS

SIAMS stands for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools – all church schools in England are regularly inspected, mainly to evaluate the extent to which church schools are ‘distinctively and recognisably Christian’. We were last inspected in 2015 and were judged to be good:

The distinctiveness and effectiveness of St James Church of England Primary as a Church of England school are good

School leaders are committed to developing the school and, this has resulted in significant improvement in attainment, progress and attendance since joining the federation in September 2012. Results are now much closer to national averages in Key Stage 2 and above in Key Stage 1.

Christian values such as peace, thoughtfulness and perseverance are explicit and influence all aspects of school life. They make a strong contribution to the high standards of behaviour and the improved achievement of pupils.

Children are well nurtured and this means they are happy, secure and eager to learn.

The school engages well with families to break down barriers to learning and enable children to flourish.

The school environment makes a positive contribution to pupils’ spiritual development.