Luton Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the accuracy of pupils’ spelling and their use of punctuation and grammar.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher has built successfully a staff team who are relentless in their aim to help pupils achieve well and overcome any disadvantage. Her strong vision for the school and high expectations for behaviour, teaching and learning have led to further improvements to the school so that it is now outstanding.
• The school serves a community with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils from many different backgrounds and cultures. However, the headteacher and other leaders do not allow this to be a barrier to success. Pupils get along harmoniously because appropriate behaviour and expectations are modelled so clearly by the headteacher and her team.
• Parents trust leaders to do their best for their children. They are extremely positive in their praise about the way the school has improved in recent years, and how staff go ‘the extra mile’ for their children. For example, the home-school support worker has had a strong impact on improving the well-being of pupils and their families. One parent explained that, ‘The teachers like children, are not grumpy and make school fun.’
• The school is incredibly inclusive. Everyone is valued and treated equally. Leaders responsible for inclusion, led ably by the deputy headteacher, ensure that all pupils have appropriate provision to help them make rapid progress. This includes pupils who speak English as an additional language and also pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively.
• Leaders responsible for year groups, key subject areas and the curriculum are well trained. They know precisely the strengths in their areas of responsibility and can clearly articulate the impact of changes they have made. For example, they describe referring to research to change the approach to teaching mathematics.
• A culture of learning is prevalent throughout the school. This ranges from leaders taking part in higher-level study and professional development to new teachers learning and being coached by more experienced colleagues. Leaders relish the opportunity to take on new responsibilities to develop new skills. Pupils are encouraged to develop their skills as learners and use the school’s ‘learning is a journey’ model to articulate how well they are progressing. Pupils explain that the ‘learning is a journey’ model allows them to get extra help or further challenge.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used extremely well. Funds are spent to support the emotional and physical well-being of all pupils and to provide more high-quality teaching throughout the school. This funding makes school, learning and life more positive for disadvantaged pupils. As a result of this funding and the high-quality teaching throughout the school, disadvantaged pupils make faster progress than other pupils nationally.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and is planned very carefully to develop pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding in a range of subjects. This is further enhanced by well-considered trips and activities such as visiting the ballet in London, West End musicals and places of historic interest to give pupils opportunities that they might not otherwise experience.
• The sport premium is used effectively to increase participation in sport, and enhance the facilities for pupils to improve their physical development.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of the school’s work. The school’s environment in classes and corridors is rich and stimulating. Questions, displayed on walls around the school and asked by teachers, stimulate deeper thinking. Prompts and displays successfully reinforce positive attitudes to learning, and celebrate the fundamental British values of tolerance, respect and individual liberty, which pupils demonstrate with confidence on a daily basis.

Governance of the school

• Governors have the necessary skills to challenge and support senior leaders appropriately. They also know the community the school serves extremely well. Governors have overseen the rapid improvements at the school and made sure that funding is used appropriately. This includes the specific funding for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• By visiting the school regularly, governors are able to check for themselves that improvements, explained in the regular detailed reports they receive from the headteacher, are being made. Governors work well with pupils’ advocates and staff to make improvements to the school, for example, the recent development of the new reading hub.
• Governors are aware that they will now need to challenge leaders in different ways to sustain the strong performance of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All staff know their responsibilities to safeguard pupils and follow these procedures diligently. The leaders with responsibility for safeguarding ensure that all staff receive relevant training and that detailed records are kept of all concerns and correspondence.
• A relatively high proportion of pupils are at risk of harm due to family circumstances, or are in the care of the local authority. Leaders work extremely well with other professionals to do all that they can to keep these pupils safe. Leaders are not afraid to challenge parents, carers or other professionals, in order to keep pupils safe.
• Leaders are acutely aware of the risks that pupils at Luton Junior School may be exposed to. Beyond neglect and domestic violence, they have refreshed staff’s knowledge of the signs of female genital mutilation and child sexual exploitation.
• Leaders recognise that one of the biggest risks to pupils is online safety. Pupils are extremely articulate and knowledgeable in describing the benefits and dangers of the internet. They explained convincingly to inspectors how they manage the risks.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers have excellent subject knowledge. They use highly effective questioning to probe pupils’ understanding and make them think deeply. As a result, pupils develop the ability to use subject-specific vocabulary accurately and make rapid progress in a range of subjects over time.
• Pupils are very engaged in their learning, because teachers make lessons interesting. Teachers plan highly effective practical activities that deepen pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding. For example, Year 6 pupils developed their understanding of the human circulatory system by walking the route blood takes through the heart on a huge diagram.
• Teachers set an excellent example, and model positive relationships and high expectations. They accurately address misconceptions and adjust the pace of lessons to suit pupils, and help them to deepen learning.
• Pupils take a very prominent role in extending their own learning. When answering questions, they are required to justify and explain their thinking to demonstrate their deep understanding. Pupils use peer assessment very powerfully, sensitively and respectfully to assess and improve each other’s work. For example, pupils were seen improving their partners’ spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Leaders, staff and pupils have created a shared understanding of their ‘learning is a journey’ approach. For example, this roadmap ensures that pupils who identify that they have hit a ‘bumpy road’ in their learning journey get extra support.
• Assessment is used effectively by teachers. They identify what pupils know and what they need to learn next, and plan activities accordingly. In mathematics, detailed assessment identifies the precise concepts that pupils need to be taught in their arithmetic lessons. This has been particularly effective at helping pupils with lower-starting points to catch up.
• There have been many recent innovations in the teaching of reading that have led to pupils making faster progress. For example, a love of reading has been promoted by taking every pupil to a bookshop to choose their own book, and through the design of a stimulating new reading hub in the school. Expectations have been raised by making a list of 100 books pupils should read before they leave, and by teachers planning challenging tasks based on class novels. However, sometimes pupils are not encouraged to choose challenging books when they select their own reading material.
• If pupils ever start to fall behind, additional teaching is planned to help them to catch up quickly. When appropriate, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have highly effective, precise, additional teaching to help them master key learning and vocabulary.
• Homework is used effectively. Pupils practise their arithmetic skills at home. Interesting projects enable the most able pupils to demonstrate their talents and interests.
• Teachers are reflective about their practice and welcome feedback to help them improve. They often debate and discuss research about effective teaching and consider any research that can be adapted and applied to help the pupils of Luton Junior School to make rapid progress in their learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils take great pride in their new school uniforms, the school’s environment and the presentation of their own work.
• Staff regularly go to great lengths to support pupils’ welfare by working closely with their families. As a result, pupils arrive in classrooms ready to learn and make progress.
• The school employs additional specialist professionals to support those vulnerable pupils who need the most help with their emotional well-being. As a result, pupils can get the guidance they need swiftly.
• Leaders are extremely proactive in improving pupils’ physical well-being. For example, free porridge and bagels are available every morning and pupils are encouraged to attend sporting activities before and after school.
• Pupils are encouraged to become articulate and confident learners. They understand how to improve their work and how to support each other independently before asking the teacher. The school’s ‘learning is a journey’ approach promotes this very well.
• Bullying is not a problem at this school. Although pupils know what bullying is, they say it does not happen, because any unkind behaviour, however minor, is tackled quickly. This does not mean that pupils are complacent. Some older pupils explained very clearly to an inspector the dangers of online bullying and how they try to protect themselves and their friends from such dangers. Pupils are adamant that everyone is treated fairly and equally at this school, whatever their background. One pupil told an inspector, ‘A human is a human.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ behaviour in classrooms is often impeccable. Pupils freely and willingly support their peers in their learning and help each other to succeed. Exemplary manners and politeness are the norm at this school.
• On the playground, pupils look out for each other and play very well together. Playtime is a happy and collaborative time. Any potentially poor behaviour is tackled straight away, often by pupils themselves, who explain to their peers why it is wrong.
• Over recent years there have been very few recorded incidents of poor behaviour. In fact, many parents told inspectors how much and how rapidly their child’s behaviour had improved since joining Luton Junior School, because of leaders’ high expectations.
• Pupils explained to inspectors how they are rewarded for their excellent behaviour over time. They also explained how the very rare use of detention is a deterrent to poor behaviour.
• Attendance is improving because of the importance senior leaders place on ensuring that all pupils’ attendance is regular. They use a wide range of strategies with pupils and families to ensure that there are no barriers to attendance.
• Leaders no longer need to use rewards and prizes to encourage pupils to attend school regularly. This is because pupils want to attend to enjoy the excellent care, guidance and learning they experience there.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, make remarkable progress in developing their speaking and oracy skills, from often low starting points. As a result of very effective teaching and modelling by staff, pupils are highly articulate, persuasive speakers by the time they reach Year 6. They routinely and confidently justify their opinions with facts or examples, holding the listener’s full attention.
• Pupils often join the school with wide gaps in their knowledge and understanding. They make rapid and sustained progress across the school. Progress in writing and reading was in the top 10% of schools nationally in 2016.
• Progress in mathematics is also very strong and improving further. For example, pupils with the lowest starting points in mathematics make the fastest progress to catch up with their peers.
• Disadvantaged pupils make stronger progress through key stage 2 than other pupils nationally because of highly effective teaching, and the wide package of support funded through the pupil premium. Currently, disadvantaged pupils in all year groups are making at least the same progress as their peers in school and more progress than other pupils nationally, because strategies are working successfully to ensure that they are ready to learn.
• Senior leaders are acutely aware of those groups of pupils who are at risk of underachieving. They waste no time in adapting teaching and the curriculum so that these pupils do not fall behind. For example, leaders have introduced a range of popular strategies to successfully encourage a group of reluctant White British boys to read regularly for pleasure.
• Attainment at the end of key stage 2 has improved each year since the previous inspection. Pupils now do as well as pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics and are well prepared for their secondary education. This was certainly not the case in the past when attainment was significantly below average.
• The most able pupils are challenged well resulting in an impressive proportion achieving a greater depth of understanding in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Highly effective provision, both in class and through additional focused teaching, ensures that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong progress from their starting points.
• Whole year group performances give pupils the opportunity to excel in art, drama and music. Pupils make strong progress deepening their knowledge and developing investigative skills in science. In the humanities, pupils make rapid progress through the activities that are carefully designed to deepen their historical and geographical skills.
• Senior leaders recognise, and inspectors agree, that some pupils are not reaching age-related expectations in their use of grammar and punctuation and the accuracy of their spelling.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 118318 Medway 10033058 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Junior School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 342 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Adrian Barrell Davinder Jandu 01634 844149 www.lutonjuniorschool.co.uk office@lutonjnr.medway.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10–11 January 2013

Information about this school

• Luton Junior School is larger than the average primary school.
• Mobility is high. While the vast majority of pupils join the school in Year 3 from the neighbouring infant school, many pupils join or leave the school at different times.
• Nearly two thirds of pupils are disadvantaged.
• Just under half of pupils are from White British backgrounds, another quarter are from other White backgrounds. One in ten pupils have Eastern European Romany heritage.
• More than a third of pupils speak English as an additional language. Pupils at the school have more than 30 different home languages.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly similar to that found nationally.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school meets the government floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in primary schools by the end of key stage 2.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in every class at least once. Some of these observations were carried out with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. An inspector also observed additional teaching for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, with a school leader.
• Inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ work and talked to pupils about their learning in classrooms.
• Her Majesty’s Inspector met with two members of the governing body and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher regularly throughout the inspection. They also met with a range of other leaders with different responsibilities.
• To gain their views, inspectors met formally with two groups of pupils, including some ‘pupils’ advocates’. Inspectors also spoke to pupils informally around the school. Inspectors heard some pupils from Year 4 and Year 6 read.
• Inspectors met with a group of trainee teachers and teachers new to their career, and a group of teaching assistants to gain their views of the school. The school did not use the online staff survey.
• Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of both days of the inspection and considered 23 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, including 14 free-text responses.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation relating to safeguarding, behaviour, leadership, the quality of teaching and the curriculum.

Inspection team

Lee Selby, lead inspector Graham Chisnell Chris Donovan Joyce Lydford

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector