Granby Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that the actions identified in the recent review of the use of the pupil premium funding are rigorously implemented to improve the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils.
• Ensure that leaders regularly assess the impact of additional support to make sure that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make progress that is in line with that of other pupils nationally with similar starting points.
• Make certain that teachers consistently use their assessment of pupils’ progress to plan lessons, particularly in reading and mathematics, that challenge pupils to achieve as well as they can.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• School leaders’ plans for improvement are precise and sharply focused to provide clear direction for the school. The plans accurately identify the areas in need of improvement and are reviewed regularly by leaders to secure sustained developments.
• Leaders, including governors, are united in their ambition and determination to provide the best for all pupils. Leaders’ work with colleagues working in other schools is developing good practice and improving transitions between schools for pupils.
• Senior leaders have reviewed the curriculum to ensure that it is motivating for pupils and contributes to their personal development. Leaders have ensured that teachers teach pupils through a curriculum that interests them and gives them a better understanding of the world around them. Their learning is enriched by a variety of themed days, visits to places of interest and visitors to school. As a result, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is developed well.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Lessons and collective worship regularly focus on school and British values such as ‘respect’ and ‘individual liberty’. This focus ensures that pupils learn about the importance of the rule of law and the importance of, as one pupil it, ‘treating others how we would like to be treated’. In addition, members of the school council told me about their visit to their local town hall council chamber. They explained that this had helped them to understand democracy. They worked with pupils from other schools to debate and vote on a range of issues relating to both their local community and to the wider world. ‘The majority vote is what matters,’ remarked one pupil when reflecting on the experience.
• School leaders have accessed a range of effective support, some of which is provided by the local authority, for leadership, staff training and development opportunities. For example, they accessed specialist advice to improve the teaching of reading and raise standards. As a result, there is now a consistent approach to the teaching of reading across the school and an increased proportion of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, attained the expected standards in reading at the end of Year 6 in 2017.
• Senior leaders have established a collaborative relationship with the infant school to share good practice for staff across the schools as well as to ensure that transition for pupils from the infant school is as effective as possible. As a result, pupils feel that they make a good start to their time at Granby Junior School and teachers have a better understanding of the starting points of individual pupils.
• Leaders have improved the teaching and learning of mathematics. The leader for mathematics has accessed good-quality training and has introduced new approaches for teaching and learning. As a result, pupils across the school are making better progress in mathematics and higher proportions of pupils attained the expected standards in mathematics at the end of Year 6 in 2017. Nevertheless, leaders are determined to improve further and have identified that there is still work to be done to ensure that pupils across all classes are consistently able to use their reasoning skills to explain how they have worked out the problems, to deepen their understanding.
• School leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good progress. However, they realised that the difference in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils, although improving, is too wide. As a result, leaders commissioned an external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding. The suggested actions from this recent review are about to be implemented.
• In the past, middle leaders of subjects other than English and mathematics have not fully contributed to the evaluation of teaching and learning. Very recent changes to staffing have also affected the quality of middle leadership. School leaders are currently accessing training brokered by the local authority to ensure that middle leadership is more effective and is rapidly developed.
• Senior leaders check that the extra funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is used effectively to raise standards for these pupils from their individual starting points. These pupils receive support that is carefully tailored to their needs. However, leaders do not precisely evaluate the progress that these pupils make in comparison with their peers. As a result, not all pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make as much progress as they could.
• Leaders have rightly focused on improving standards in English and mathematics. However, they do not ensure that teachers use their assessments of pupils’ learning as well as they should to raise standards further.

Governance of the school

• Members of the governing body have a good strategic view of the school and are ambitious for its future. They keep a sharp focus on the progress and attainment of pupils and are effective at holding the headteacher to account for school improvement. They challenge and question the information she provides.
• Governors understand their responsibilities and visit the school regularly to meet with leaders. These visits are closely linked to school improvement plans. The visits help governors to see for themselves how well the school is performing. Governors make sure that the governing body is made aware of any issues and can take necessary action.
• Governors check how well leaders allocate and monitor any additional funding received by the school, such as the funding for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. They have supported leaders to improve provision for disadvantaged pupils by commissioning a review of the spending of the pupil premium.
• Governors are keen to ensure that they support the school as best as they can to improve outcomes for pupils. Consequently, governors have participated in relevant training to develop their understanding and improve their effectiveness.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff and governors have undergone training in safeguarding. Staff understand that they have a duty to be vigilant and are aware of the different forms of abuse.
• The designated safeguarding leaders are well trained and ensure that pupils and their families are referred to external support agencies promptly, when required. Records relating to safeguarding are kept in a well-ordered fashion.
• Senior leaders know the school community well and work with families to ensure the well-being of children whose circumstances may make them particularly vulnerable. Leaders ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching and learning are typically good in a range of subjects across the school. The senior leadership team, supported by the senior school improvement adviser for the local authority, has ensured improvements to the quality of teaching and learning. Where teaching is less strong, senior leaders provide effective training and support.
• Teachers have a good understanding of the subjects they teach. They plan lessons that interest and encourage pupils, particularly boys, to learn. For example, pupils in Year 3 enthusiastically told inspectors how they designed and made a papier-mâché crocodile as part of their ‘our world is super’ topic.
• Teachers provide frequent opportunities for pupils to write across different subjects. Teachers use inspirational texts and themes to ensure that pupils are motivated to write for different purposes. For example, pupils in Year 4 were observed writing descriptive poetry based on their reading of the poem ‘The Sound Collector’ by Roger McGough. They worked together to create imaginative verses for their poems based on their learning about onomatopoeia, which linked to their scientific understanding of sound.
• Teachers plan mathematics lessons that are well structured and build on pupils’ prior learning. Pupils have regular opportunities to use their knowledge to solve problems. They increasingly use their reasoning skills to explain what they have done and why.
• Teachers use good-quality texts to enthuse and motivate pupils to read, and inspire their imaginations. For example, pupils in Year 5 were developing their inference and prediction skills while engaged in a discussion based on the book ‘Skellig’ by David Arnold. The teacher guided the pupils to deepen their understanding. She used skilful questioning and carefully chosen examples from the text. In addition, pupils who read to inspectors explained how much they enjoyed reading. One pupil explained that regular reading at home encouraged her to, ‘understand more at school. It means I can use better words in my writing too’.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities receive effective, well-planned support. Teachers work closely with colleagues and parents and carers to ensure that additional support is precisely targeted and meets pupils’ needs to move them on in their learning.
• Teachers do not always use assessment information effectively, particularly in reading and mathematics. As a result, pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, are not consistently challenged to do as well as they can. Conversely, where challenge is provided promptly in lessons, pupils make good gains in their learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are friendly and caring. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that they can talk to staff about worries they may have.
• Pupils enjoy school and socialise well. They are encouraged to take part in decision making through their elected positions as members of the school council. In addition, lessons and collective worship regularly focus on themes around British values and ensuring that pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in different situations. For example, pupils told me about a recent visit to school from a police officer. They explained how he had highlighted to them the significant dangers of playing in abandoned buildings.
• Leaders effectively promote healthy lifestyles. Pupils were able to explain to inspectors how to stay healthy by eating well and exercising regularly.
• Pupils benefit from a range of sporting clubs and other wider curricular activities provided by the school such as multisport club, dodgeball, film club and information, communication and technology club.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. These include how to stay safe online and the dangers from cycling on roads. The vast majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, confirmed that the school keeps their child safe. One parent explained, ‘Our child feels very safe. When I asked her what she likes about her school, she said, “they care about me,” which would mean a lot to her because she can be very anxious at times.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The school is a calm, friendly place. Pupils behave well in lessons and conduct themselves well around the school. Pupils are polite and well mannered.
• Pupils have a good understanding of bullying and the different forms it can take. They say that incidents of bullying are few and that adults deal with these incidents promptly and fairly. Some parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, raised concerns about how well leaders deal with incidents of bullying or poor behaviour. Inspectors could find no evidence to support these concerns. Leaders’ policies, procedures and records are appropriate and detailed. Outside agencies are consulted promptly, when required.
• In lessons, pupils collaborate well and show mutual respect for each other. Relationships are positive. In some lessons, pupils lost focus only if their work was not well matched to their needs.
• Procedures for monitoring attendance are rigorous. Leaders promote the importance of attendance in the school and work with parents and outside agencies to ensure that pupils are safe and attend school regularly. As a result, attendance is close to the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Evidence seen in pupils’ books and in lessons, and information provided by the school, indicates that the majority of current pupils are working at the expected standard for their age in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The most able pupils achieved well in reading, writing and mathematics in 2017. The proportions of pupils exceeding the expected standards in writing and mathematics were above national averages. In reading, attainment improved from the previous year to be in line with national averages.
• In 2017, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics combined improved and was above the national average at both the expected and higher standards.
• Attainment for disadvantaged pupils rose in 2017 in reading, writing and mathematics at both the expected and higher standards. Attainment of the higher standard in writing was above the national average. Attainment of the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics combined rose to be in line with national averages. Nevertheless, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment of the expected standards was below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils do not attain as well as their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. Specifically focused additional support is ensuring that these pupils make good progress, but leaders have identified that this progress is not yet sufficient for pupils to quickly catch up with their peers.
• In recent years, pupils leaving Granby have not been well prepared for their secondary schools. However, in 2017, greater proportions of pupils left the school with skills and knowledge that are essential for successful learners.
• By the end of Year 6, pupils’ progress is broadly in line with national averages for writing. However, pupils’ progress in mathematics, although improving, is not as strong. Leaders have reviewed the teaching and learning of mathematics to raise standards and it was clear from inspectors’ scrutiny of books and observations during lessons that the majority of current pupils are making good progress and developing their mathematical skills well.
• Pupils make less progress in reading than they should. Leaders’ actions to raise standards by revising teaching and learning strategies are having a positive impact on attainment. Nevertheless, leaders are aware that pupils’ progress in reading needs to improve more rapidly, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make slower progress than their peers. Leaders ensure that additional funding is used appropriately to provide additional support. This is specifically focused to meet individuals’ academic, social and emotional needs. Nevertheless, leaders do not precisely evaluate the impact of their actions to ensure that these pupils make similar progress to other pupils.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 112571 Derbyshire 10041043 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Junior School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 322 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Sarah Henshaw Caroline Rees 0115 932 2424 www.granbyjuniorschool.co.uk headteacher@granby.derbyshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 6–7 February 2013

Information about this school

• Granby Junior School is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The school receives support brokered by the local authority to target specific areas for school improvement.
• The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is just below the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards.
• The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 2 academic performance results in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups, including joint observations with the headteacher. They observed the teaching of reading and listened to pupils reading. Inspectors talked to pupils about their school and looked at examples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and middle leaders. The lead inspector held meetings with representatives of the governing body and a consultant brokered by the local authority to support the school.
• Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. They took account of the 57 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View).
• Inspectors considered the 20 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff. There were no responses to the pupil survey. Parent and pupil surveys carried out by the school were also considered.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including: the school’s self-evaluation of current performance and plans for improvement; the school’s most recent information on the achievement and progress of pupils; information relating to the safeguarding of pupils; information about the behaviour management of pupils; the recent external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding; the school’s most recent information relating to the attendance of pupils; and minutes from a number of governing body meetings.

Inspection team

Stephanie Innes-Taylor, lead inspector Gayle Bacon Graham Boyd

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector