“GOOD” OFSTED REPORT FOR ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL

St. John’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled School in Epping has recently opened its doors to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools. I have outlined below an executive summery, which I have put together myself from comments made in the Ofsted report:

Overall effectiveness of the school
St. John’s provides a good standard of education. Students are cared for, guided and supported well and the majority make good progress. Under the leadership of the new head teacher and his strong leadership team, standards, attendance and behaviour have all improved. Teaching is good. Planning is thorough and most lessons cater well for different levels of subject knowledge and understanding. The benefits of changes in leadership, curriculum and staffing made since the last inspection are being seen clearly in the good progress made by current students. Students’ personal development is good, overall. They feel safe and secure in school. The behaviour of the great majority is good.

Achievement and Standards
As in 2008, the school is on course to meet the challenging targets set for the overall number of GCSE passes in 2009 and, while targets in the specialist subjects were missed last year, the current Yerar 11 are on course to achieve much better results.

Personal development and well-being
Racist incidents are rare. Students say that bullying rarely occurs but when it does it is dealt with immediately and effectively. Teachers promote students’ sense of self-worth and confidence. Standards of behaviour, both in the classroom and around the school are generally good. Attendance rates in all year groups is in line with national averages. There has been a significant reduction in temporary exclusions and persistent absences. Students actively participate in charity work and make some good contributions to community life.

Teaching and learning
The majority of teaching is good. Teachers have good subject and curriculum knowledge. Most students are enthusiastic about their lessons and their learning. Students are regularly assessed and booster or master classes are provided for students in need of support of more of a challenge.

Curriculum and other activities
All statutory requirements are met in Key Stages 3 and 4. In Years 10 and 11, there is a wide choice of subjects and vocational options to meet the needs of the students. There is a good provision for literacy and numeracy across the curriculum.

Care, guidance and support
The school’s systems for tracking students’ progress is efficient and reliably informs staff and parents, helping them to identify the students who need further help. Parents are encouraged to take part by providing feedback to the school on how well their children are attaining targets.

Leadership and management
There is a clear and effective focus on improving standards of students’ work and personal development. The head teacher’s strong ambition and pride in the school is shared across the school community. The school has seen record numbers of applications for places in the next Year 7. The school has a strong and consistent senior and middle leadership team. The Governing Body is well-organised and very committed. The school gives good value for mone overall, but still has to overcome a budget deficit.

Other notable achievements
St. John’s has been a specialist engineering college since September 2006. The school was awarded the Artsmark Silver Award in 2007, the Intermediate International Schools Award in March 2009 and Health Schools Status in April 2009.

To view the full report, please click here. To view the school's current prospectus. please click here.