St James the Great Church of England Primary School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms that St James’ Church of England Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The report highlights that pupils “enjoy attending school” and “learn well,” with particular praise for early years provision and reading. However, the inspection identifies specific areas requiring improvement in writing, support for pupils with special educational needs, and behaviour during less-structured times.

Strengths

• Early reading is “working well,” with “clear and effective routines for teaching phonics” ensuring pupils learn to read fluently.
• Mathematics teaching has improved; teachers now adapt the curriculum based on assessments, enabling pupils to “move on when they have mastered it.”
• Children in the early years are “particularly engaged and enthused,” benefiting from a calm environment and well-established routines.
• The trust and governing body provide “effective challenge and support,” responding quickly to leadership changes to secure standards.
• Pupils experience “multiple opportunities to develop their understanding of the world,” including visits to places of worship and local history sites.

Areas to improve

• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is not always effective; the school must ensure support “consistently meets their needs” to improve learning and behaviour.
• Writing instruction is less effective than reading and maths; the school must ensure pupils are “taught to write well” so they do not take longer to learn key skills.
• Behaviour expectations are not consistently high in less-structured times; the school should “establish consistently high standards of behaviour,” particularly during lunchtime and breaktime.

Safeguarding

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