Pupils at St John’s Church of England Primary School in Keynsham are growing into confident and responsible citizens.
That’s the verdict of the watchdog Ofsted, which has rated the personal development of children at the school as outstanding.
Two inspectors visited the popular 210-pupil primary in July and judged it to be good overall, including in the categories of teaching and learning, leadership and management, and children’s behaviour and attitudes. Safeguarding was found to be effective.
Their report said, ‘Pupils enjoy attending St John’s Church of England Primary School. They talk with pride about being a responsible citizen and how this helps them to make a positive contribution to the life of the school and beyond.’
Pupils are given many meaningful opportunities to develop a sense of responsibility, with character development interwoven throughout the curriculum and visitors and educational visits carefully designed to enrich pupils’ experience, the inspectors added.
Roles as eco councillors, spiritual leaders and ‘playtime partisans’ were highlighted among the positive opportunities for pupils, who were said to be ‘morally grounded’ and to know that respect for one another is paramount.
Ofsted also noted the adaptations to learning, particularly in mathematics, for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) enable them to build knowledge sequentially.
‘The school’s commitment to all pupils taking a full and active role in all aspects of school life is impressive,’ the report said.
St John’s was described as a ‘purposeful learning environment’, where adults know children and families well and have high expectations of pupils.
The inspectors praised:
- A clear vision for what they [the school] want pupils to know and remember.
- A broad and ambitious curriculum that is well sequenced.
- A strong start for children in early years, with an emphasis on oracy communication and language.
- Excellent support to help pupils develop a love of reading.
- Expert delivery of the phonics programme, thanks to ongoing coaching, training and support.
To improve further, they said, the school should use assessment better to help identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and should ensure that pupils with SEND were provided with learning to help them build their knowledge.
Julia Bamfield, who has been headteacher since September 2023, commented, “St John’s is a strong school at the heart of its community, brilliantly supported by families and by our wonderful staff team.
“This enables us to help children thrive academically and personally. I am delighted that this Ofsted report recognises the important qualities our children are developing. We look forward to continuing to support all pupils to grow and flourish.”
St John’s is one of 26 schools in Futura Learning Partnership. Its chief executive, Gary Schlick, said, “Congratulations to everyone at St John’s on this excellent Ofsted report, especially the pupils, who really impressed the inspectors.
“We are proud that the support provided to the school by Futura was acknowledged in the report and are already addressing the areas where we can make further improvements for the benefit of children and adults.”