John Keble Church of England Primary School

Overview

Pupils are described as “safe and happy” at John Keble, where they demonstrate responsibility and understand school values such as “love, hope, forgiveness and trust.” The school maintains “high ambition” for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with most achieving well in core subjects by the end of key stage 2.

Strengths

• Relationships between staff and pupils are “warm and kind,” with older pupils acting as helpful role models.
• Staff are trained to teach phonics with “precision,” enabling pupils to develop reading skills and confidence quickly.
• The curriculum is “ambitious” and aims to challenge all pupils, with careful activity design in the early years to develop communication.
• Pupils enjoy “wider opportunities” such as Greek workshops and museum visits that help “bring learning to life.”
• Leaders and governors have an “accurate and realistic picture” of the school’s effectiveness and are committed to continual improvement.

Areas to improve

• In foundation subjects, the precise knowledge to be taught is not set out clearly enough, affecting how effectively staff teach new knowledge.
• Staff do not consistently check what pupils know or address misconceptions quickly enough, meaning gaps in learning are not always identified.
• Pupils do not show “sustained concentration” consistently, so the school must embed expectations to help pupils build positive learning habits.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”