Folville Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Folville Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love learning in this engaging and joyful school. One pupil said, 'This is a school where things happen.'

Pupils enjoy interesting activities which bring their learning to life. They behave well and have lovely manners.

Leaders try to find out the special talents and interests of each child.

They plan clubs and events to build on these interests. Pupils talked about playing different sports and musical instruments, and visits out of the school. The girls' football team is about to represent Leicester City Football Club in London.

Other pupils recently play...ed music in front of Prince Charles. Pupils danced in an after-school club, while others sang with gusto.

The vast majority of parents and carers would recommend the school.

They appreciate the extras provided. They also like the way their children are enjoying learning a wide range of subjects. Bullying is rare.

If it happens, teachers and other staff deal with it. Pupils say they do this well. Pupils feel safe in school.

Expectations are high for everyone. All pupils have challenging books to read. Some pupils benefit from hearing someone else reading a book aloud first.

Handwriting and presentation are now a strength. Almost all pupils' handwriting is attractive and stylish.

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

School leaders make sure that pupils study a broad range of subjects.

Teachers plan extra activities and experiences to bring these subjects to life. They want to include everybody. They use the extra funding so that disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities can join in and learn.

Some pupils are absent from school too often. They miss more than one day per fortnight on average. Specialist staff work with pupils and their families when life is getting tough.

Attendance of these pupils has improved so far this year.

Leaders have made reading a priority. Pupils' achievement in reading was not improving as much as their achievement in mathematics and writing.

There is a different approach now. Teachers emphasise reading skills, such as visualising and predicting. Books are well chosen.

Teachers use new computer-based quizzes to check that pupils understand what they are reading. Teachers think aloud to model successful reading. Pupils say that they enjoy reading.

Pupils' achievement in reading is now improving.

Pupils' achievement in mathematics and science is also improving. These subjects have well-organised plans which help teachers decide what to teach.

However, teachers need more guidance about how to teach the subject skills and content. For example, in mathematics, some pupils struggle to work out the sides, or the area, of a rectangle because they do not know all their times tables yet. Leaders are not clear about what aspects of planning teachers can adapt and what is an essential piece of learning.

Usually, teachers adapt the curriculum well. For example, teaching assistants offer plastic shapes to some pupils. These helps them work out the answers to problems.

Science leaders have thought about scientific vocabulary. They list the important words that pupils need to know. Pupils behave very well in their lessons.

The headteacher and other leaders are very experienced. They want the school to be successful. They know that this means more than test results.

They lead with integrity and they know the community well. They make sure that teachers are not overloaded with paperwork. There is time for teachers to plan exciting visits and visitors.

Governors make sure that they are up to date with what is happening in school and whether it is working. They ask questions when school leaders have ideas to make sure that the ideas are good ones. Staff are proud to work at Folville Junior School.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils know what to do if they are worried. They understand how to be careful when using the internet.

The systems for checking that adults are suitable to work with children are effective. Staff know how to report any concerns they may have. The designated leaders for safeguarding work with other agencies to make sure that pupils get the help they need.

Safeguarding records are thorough.

Leaders think about how to keep the pupils safe. For example, pupils are helped to cross the road safely at the start of the school day.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The school has made substantial improvements to its curriculum since it was last inspected. Subject plans are still being developed, particularly for subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders are using the national curriculum to support content choice, and plans are clear and well organised in this respect.

For this reason, the transition arrangement has been applied in this case. However, plans are not yet precise about how subject-specific skills and concepts should be introduced and developed. Leaders should continue to develop curriculum plans to ensure that, alongside their knowledge, pupils' subject-specific skills and understanding of concepts deepen and develop over time.

. Teachers are not subject specialists in every subject they teach. Occasionally, teachers make decisions to adapt the plans they had been given, which creates unnecessary difficulties for the pupils.

On rare occasions, likely misconceptions are not anticipated. Leaders should be more explicit about the extent to which teachers can use their professional judgement to adapt and deviate from curriculum plans so that essential learning is not missed and cognitive overload is avoided.

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 non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, 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 convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 20–21 April 2016.