St James's Church of England High School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 November 2022

Leaders and staff at St James Church of England High School have extremely high expectations for pupils' behaviour and achievement. Pupils get the care and support they need to overcome challenges and strive for excellence. Pupils are motivated to work hard by teachers. They are keen to do well. In most subjects, pupils benefit from teaching that helps them to achieve well or better. The vast majority of pupils behave extremely well. Pupils are courteous and care for each other. They contribute to a school environment that is calm and orderly. Pupils do not experience much bullying, name calling or other unpleasant behaviours. When they do occur, pupils report them quickly. Staff deal with these with care and skill. Pupils feel happy in school. They value their strong friendships and warm relationships with staff. Pupils have a strong sense of belonging. This helps them to feel safe. Pupils value the diverse range of wider opportunities they get. These support pupils to develop their skills and interests in many areas such as sport, music and drama. Teachers go beyond the expected, for example by providing pupils with opportunities to learn about and care for exotic animals. Staff ensure that all pupils feel welcome at these opportunities.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, pupils in Years 10 and 11 do not benefit from curriculum content that is as rigorous or carefully sequenced as it could be. This affects how well teachers provide pupils with opportunities to learn and practise using new knowledge. Pupils in these subjects cannot recall and use important knowledge as well as they can in other subjects. Leaders should continue with their plans to implement strengthened curriculums across all year groups in all subjects.
• Teachers' approaches to assessing what pupils know and remember are variable. In some subjects, teachers are still developing assessment strategies that are carefully focused on the important knowledge that pupils have learned. Elsewhere, newly designed assessment approaches are not securely in place in every year group. This means that pupils are not always benefiting from assessment that clearly identifies what they know and remember. Leaders should continue their work to ensure that all subjects get the support they need to design and implement effective approaches to assessment across all key stages.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)