Fir Tree Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The headteacher provides strong and purposeful leadership.

Teamwork is strong and staff morale is high. Leaders place the well-being of all pupils at the heart of this highly inclusive school. The curriculum provides pupils with a wealth of interesting and exciting opportunities.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning and work well together. They behave well and are courteous and polite. Teaching is good over time.

Teachers make effective use of assessment to identify and address previous gaps in pupils' learning, especially in mathematics. Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities make go...od progress because carefully planned work meets their individual needs effectively. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well.

Pupils have a good understanding of different religions, cultures and British values. Pupils' attendance is consistently higher than that at most other similar schools. The school's work to keep pupils safe is thorough and effective.

Governors support and challenge leaders effectively and hold them to account for pupils' outcomes. The school's work to support pupils' personal development and welfare is outstanding. The headteacher has established an environment where every child, parent and member of staff is highly valued.

Parents and staff speak very highly of the school. They work well together and say that they are proud to be part of the school community. The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, do not make rapid enough progress in writing.

This is because they are not given sufficiently challenging work and they do not develop their writing skills sufficiently well. In some classes, pupils' presentation and handwriting are untidy and messy.

Information about this school

This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.

Since the last inspection, the school has expanded from one and a half forms to two forms of entry. The vast majority of pupils are White British, with very few pupils who speak English as an additional language or who come from minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average.

The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is below average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress. There have been considerable staff changes since the last inspection, with the appointment of a new assistant headteacher, as well as four new class teachers.

The governing body has changed considerably with several new governors. The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club. The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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