Bounds Green Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bounds Green Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils really like coming to this friendly and welcoming school.

Staff are caring, have high expectations and make learning fun. Pupils work hard in lessons to achieve their best. Staff and pupils treat each other with mutual kindness and respect.

This ensures pupils are safe here.

Pupils' behaviour is consistently strong. They behave well in class, around the school and during playtimes.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and are highly motivated to do well in lessons. Staff help pupils to stay calm and regulate their emotions. Pupils understand diffe...rent types of bullying.

Although they say that bullying is extremely rare, they all know an adult they can talk to if they do have any concerns.

There are a range of visits that support the curriculum. For example, pupils enjoy visits to local secondary schools to support their learning in science.

Similarly, Year 6 are learning the songs they are due to perform in a festival at the Royal Albert Hall.

Most parents and carers spoken with and those who responded to the online survey are positive of the work of school leaders. They say they feel proud being part of such a supportive local community.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum in a wide range of subjects. They monitor it to ensure that it matches the requirements and ambition of the national curriculum. The curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The curriculum is well planned in most subject areas. Leaders have sequenced learning so that pupils build up knowledge over time. Teachers regularly check what pupils can remember from previous lessons.

This helps pupils to understand important concepts and vocabulary. For example, in science, pupils understand concepts such as refraction, spectrum and translucence because they have already learned simpler ideas about light.

Similarly, in design technology, pupils understand the process of designing and making different objects.

Older pupils apply this process confidently when making cams. In art, pupils can explain how they are improving at drawing and painting and about the range of artists they study. Pupils enjoy music lessons, although opportunities for them to compose and perform are more limited.

Leaders place emphasis on developing the key vocabulary that pupils need to know in all subjects. For example, in history pupils could explain in detail the meaning of hieroglyphs, pharaohs and the River Nile. However, leaders are currently developing the content of the history curriculum in Years 5 and 6.

Leaders prioritise teaching pupils to read. They have made recent changes to the teaching of reading. As a result, most pupils learn to read confidently and fluently.

Leaders are successfully promoting a love of reading. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their reading lessons and time in the library. The school has a fully inclusive culture and staff support pupils with SEND well in class.

However, some of the additional reading interventions are not always targeted precisely at what these pupils need to practise.Members of the governing body provide effective challenge and support for leaders. As a result, senior leaders have an accurate view of what the school does well.

The local education partnership provides strong curriculum support and training for staff. While some staff feel their workload is well managed, this is not the experience of everybody. Leaders are aware of this and are considering other ways staff can be supported.

Pupils enjoy visits to the Tate Gallery and Year 3 recently visited the Natural History Museum, linking to their learning. Pupils eagerly take on additional responsibilities, including as playground buddies.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong safeguarding culture. Leaders carry out all required checks when recruiting new staff. Regular training ensures that staff know what to do if they have concerns.

Leaders know pupils' families well. They engage swiftly with outside agencies to provide help and support for vulnerable pupils.

Pupils' lessons in computing help them learn how to stay safe when online.

Leaders have provided specific workshops on dealing with peer-on-peer abuse, and how to discuss their emotions and feelings. Pupils are articulate and know how to respond to any harassment or name-calling. They say they are learning how to be resilient and confident.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Most pupils learn to read confidently and fluently. However, some of the additional interventions for weaker readers are not always targeted precisely at what they need to practise. Leaders need to ensure that these interventions are sharpened so that the specific difficulties these pupils have in reading are addressed.

• Leaders have developed a curriculum for most subjects that matches the ambition of what is expected nationally. It is clearly sequenced so that pupils develop a detailed and coherent knowledge over time. This helps pupils understand important ideas and vocabulary that they apply confidently to more difficult learning.

However, in a few subjects, the curriculum is not fully developed for all year groups. Leaders should ensure that in history and music all aspects of the curriculum are covered in sufficient depth so that pupils understand important ideas and are well-prepared for secondary school.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2013.

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