TERMLY HEADTEACHER’S REPORT TO GOVERNORS
February 2014
General Information about the school
School Roll
The school roll as of 16th January 2014 was 242 (including the nursery).
Yr6 30 children Full
Yr5 30 children Full
Yr4 30 children Full
Yr3 30 children Full
Yr2 29 children 1 vacancies
Yr1 30 children Full
R 30 children Full
N 35 children Full
Free school meals 58.9%
SEN Register
Statemented Pupils – 5 pupils
School Action plus Pupils – 17%
School Action Pupils – 15%
EAL - (48.8%) Stages
Deprivation Indicator - highest
Minority Ethnic Groups - (99%)
Child Protection
There has been 1 referral by the school this term.
CAF Register
There is currently 3 CAF being processed by the school since the January 2014 report.
Quality of Teaching and Learning
1. Lesson Observations
The last round of lesson observations showed that a good proportion of teaching seen was of high quality. Four lessons were evaluated as outstanding and in all other classes teaching was judged to be good. Most of the good lessons had aspects that were outstanding.
The outstanding lessons were very well organized and carefully planned to meet the needs of all learners, with imaginative and motivating learning tasks for all. Pupils were focused throughout with excellent behaviour and showed delight in their learning. They used opportunities for independent learning very well, progress was obvious and pupils were engaged in assessing their own success.
General strengths in teaching
· Relationships between adults and pupils, which promote an excellent ethos for learning.
· Attractive, well organized and well resourced environments for learning (even where classrooms are small).
· Excellent team-work between teachers and teaching assistants, which enhances learning opportunities.
· Promotion of independent learning.
· Good use of IT by staff and pupils.
· Good planning for cross-curricular learning and the application of basic skills.
· Good questioning which promotes constructive discussion among pupils.
· Many opportunities for collaborative learning.
· Good opportunities developing for pupils to assess and identify their own learning success
Areas for development or refinement in some classes
· Ensuring that pupils know to use the support provided for independent work.
· Greater challenge for some of the more able pupils.
· Further opportunities for pupils to assess their own learning.
· Maintaining a good balance between teacher input and pupil talk or activity throughout the lesson.
· Ensuring that objectives for learning are not too complex or too wide ranging for success in each lesson.
2. Work Scrutiny
Work scrutiny is an integral part of making a triangulated judgement of the typicality of teaching and learning over time.
See attached Maths work scrutiny and English work scrutiny reports. Both reports indicate that quality of children’s work is outstanding.
Achievement: (Attainment and Progress)
1. Please see attached School Data Analysis Key Findings for Autumn 2013/14 for attainment.
2. Please see attached School Data Analysis Key Findings for Autumn 2013/14 for progress.
Concluding Judgement on Teaching and Learning based on lesson observation, work scrutiny and achievement is outstanding
Leadership and Management
1. Teacher Appraisal
All staff appraisal reviews will take place by the 14th February. This is to assess how all staff are performing with regard to their agreed targets which have been set in accordance to the new teaching standards and the School Improvement Plan. Predictions are that the review will show that the progress will be outstanding the evidence for this prediction is based on the fact that Teaching and Learning is currently outstanding.
2. Pupil Premium:
See attached breakdown of how St John’s has been using the Pupil Premium which was allocated to the school by the DFE using the number of children having Free School Meals as the criteria. This can also be found on the schools website
3. Personal
For reasons see attached it was decided through chairs action to make the deputy heads non class based as of the 1st January. Mark Tiernan an experienced outstanding teacher is now the full time class teacher for year 4 and Deputy Head Diane Canaku will be responsible for inclusion see attached her report and action plan for obtaining the Inclusion Quality Mark for the school which is a big step towards the school scoring an Outstanding Judgement in the next Ofsted inspection.
4. New Build
See attached report
5. School and Church
The theme for this term is journeying in Faith Hope and Love which will involve Journeying with Water
The Charity that we will be supporting will be Water Aid. There will be a Display Board in the foyer which will focus on the collection of water to help others live a better life.
The children will be taken on a journey ie Alpha and Omega; from Creation to Revelation they will plot events through the bible:
Old Testament: Creation, Flood, Red Sea, Meribah
New Testament: Baptism, Water into wine, Miracles, Living Water
Letters: Revelation
See minutes from Faith Group Meeting
6. St Marks
The school has been approached by the L/A to support St Marks Primary School in Vauxhall on the back of their OFSTED inspection which judged them as Requiring Improvement. The school needs support with the following areas: To improve the quality of teaching to at least good in order to accelerate pupils’ progress and raise attainment further. To raise standards in writing across the school by providing all pupils with further planned opportunities to practise their extended writing skills. Raise effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, to drive improvement across all areas of the curriculum.
See attached SWOT ANALYSIS
7. Website
The website has been reviewed and it was found that it needs reorganising a meeting with a company called Callaway Designs is scheduled for Thursday 13th February.
8. Physical Education
Schools are now required to report on how they are spending their sports grant. At St John’s we have employed a specialist Sports Coach who provides high quality PE lessons to all classes across the school we buy into the Schools Sports Partnership that provide curriculum support for the sports coach as well as the teachers. Part of the sports coach’s targets is to provide master classes for in PE for all staff.
9. Brixton Learning Collaborative
Ellen Ferguson – guest speaker – Kidscape: BIT project (primary)
Kidscape is a company offering fully funded training on antibullying in school for teachers and year 4 and 5 children, plus workshops for 1 class. They have started a very successful project in Hill Mead already, where Hill Mead staff attended a training session (which staff thought was good), the Hill Mead staff then led an INSET on it, and there were workshops for a class in school on antibullying, but teachers throughout the school used resources and the INSET skills with their classes and it became a whole school project.
Kidscape would like a group of 4, maximum 5 to work with from BLC – 1 school would need to host a training session (provide a suitable space and refreshments for 3 hours), then they offer workshops for 1 class in each school over about half a term (year 4 or 5) and support materials so the project can be rolled out throughout a school.
If interested, please email: . www.kidscape.org.uk for more information.
They have capacity to start Feb onwards
Projects update (JS)
We have our TS Eliot project taking place with EGA and all primaries (all year 5 classes); BLC Poetry Slam with all 10 schools; Maths and photography project with St john Divine, Loughborough and Hill Mead; National Theatre transition project with Jessop, EGA and Hill Mead; sewing classes for Hill Mead (managed through Effra) and Loughborough then to Stockwell/Jessop Children’s Centres next term. Ebony Horse Club lessons are also starting, first with children from Hill Mead and Stockwell, in summer and autumn with the other 4 schools who took part in the original RIDE project – these lessons are designed to move some of the first cohort of riders on.
Next term there will be opportunities to take part in the EGA Literacy Festival in July, with a planned Spelling Bee.
Jenny circulated information about funding available to apply for, for Physics and Science. She can support writing an application if schools are interested in pursuing. Also circulated information about IRMO – organisation in Brixton that can offer support to Spanish speaking families newly arrived in a range of areas, and could help schools orientate new families.
Most Able
Jenny will set up an Able and Talented co-ordinators forum this academic year. There was discussion in this meeting on what was needed to support Able and Talented children in the cluster.
Training on identifying Able and Talented children was thought as something that would be useful – Jenny to speak k to Arabella Yapp in Lambeth to see if she can offer a session for BLC staff, particularly NQTs who haven’t had much experience on this.
Cross-cluster activities would be useful – possibly a multi-disciplined project which could involve students gifted across a range of areas; eg involving outstanding writers, musicians, artists.
Creative writing workshops for outstanding writers across the cluster- Jenny will get details of workshops that were run in Windmill cluster.
In EGA they have about 20 students per year on their register and offer particular activities, trips for these students: it was suggested some of these students might link with primary A and T students to share their experiences.
SHINE update
New bid for SHINE has gone in to Lottery for 4 years funding of a project for 60 primary children, 6 secondary mentors on a rota basis, plus a Family Learning element –won’t know outcome for some time. Bid also being written now to carry on as is, to SHINE and Walcot, for further 3 years – 10 places for 2 form entry schools, 6 for 1 form – targeting years 4 and 5 in particular.
2014/15 recruitment Lisa, SHINE PM, would like new children recruited in summer term. She can come into school and talk about the project during the recruitment phase. Jessop has involved current students giving an assembly to talk about SHINE which has generated interest from others wanting to join. Lisa wants to arrange a day for September new intake SHINE families to come in the summer term, so the project can get up and running quickly early September.
Current attendance Lisa will now send weekly attendance updates on all students to school leads on SHINE – please chase up non attendees on weekly basis.
Host school 2014/15 St John’s Angell Town can’t host SHINE in 2014/15 as they are having a rebuild. EGA offered possibility of hosting, or some of their facilities could be used from time to time on Saturday. The new venue will be discussed at next Heads meeting.
Family Learning
Jenny asked that schools survey their parents before Easter to find out what kind of courses they would like, so she can put in requests in summer term, for 2014/15 – both Family Learning and Community Adult Learning.
Please let Jenny know who is responsible in your school for parental engagement/family learning.
BLC has got some money from GLA in partnership with London CLC and the British Film Institute to develop and pilot some ESOL materials, film literacy based, that could be used by staff in school, with minimal training to run a course for parents, rather than relying on external trainers.
Lambeth Libraries are running a book review opportunity – Phoenix book awards, for 10 – 12 year olds – could be something for Able and Talented in your schools (details circulated)
EGA would welcome opportunities for their staff to visit primary settings, to get a better idea of where their year 7s comes from to support transition. Equally, EGA would be happy for primary staff to visit EGA. This could all be arranged via the steering group contacts through email.
See attached slide show from Heads away day.
Behaviour and Safety
1. Behaviour and Attitudes to Learning
Pupil’s remains outstanding pupils are polite, show good manners, listen to adults and each other, follow rules and accept consequences for rule breaking as well accept the rewards with pride if they have kept to the rules. Staff report that pupils respond well and show outstanding behaviour for learning in class and behave very well around the school. There are outstanding systems for behaviour management and a high % of pupils are taking responsibility for their own and each other’s behaviour. Pupils are readily able to relate their behaviour to what they learn in Worship.
2. Attendance
Attendance is good and the targets for 2013/4 which is, overall attendance 97%, authorised 2.3% and unauthorised absence 0.6% is on track to be achieved. The attendance of FSM children is good.
Persistent absence is a real issue for two families. The Admin Officer and Headteacher continue to closely monitor attendance on a two weekly basis. The school continues to focus on lateness. Parents have been made aware of the procedures used by school to address attendance concerns. They have also been made aware of the new rulings regarding holidays during term times
Martin Clark
Head Teacher
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