John Flamsteed Community School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school provides a welcoming and supportive environment. Clear routines and high expectations create a calm and purposeful atmosphere. Strong relationships between staff and pupils build trust.

Staff address issues quickly and effectively, fostering a positive culture where pupils can thrive.

Teachers have high expectations of pupils, rooted in the school's vision of wanting them to be 'nothing short of remarkable'. The 'JF Way' helps teachers inspire pupils to become 'ambitious, committed, and proud'.

This approach supports all pupils, encouraging them to believe in their potential to succeed.

The school promotes equality and inclusion, with a c...lear message that bullying and derogatory language are not tolerated. Pupils are confident in using systems to report inappropriate behaviour and know it will be addressed.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities, including sports, music and leadership roles, such as sitting on the school council and being an anti-bullying ambassador. These experiences, alongside unique clubs such as the 'Warhammer Club', support personal development and build pupils' confidence, preparing them for life beyond school.

Parents agree that the school's community feel and well-organised curriculum help pupils achieve well.

They appreciate the inclusive environment and the school's commitment to high aspirations for every pupil.

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

The curriculum is ambitious, ensuring that all pupils can achieve their best. Subjects are carefully organised to identify the key knowledge and skills pupils need to achieve well.

For example, in English, Year 7 pupils study monstrosities in literature to prepare for the complex themes in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' at GCSE. In history, pupils develop a strong understanding of chronology in Year 7, starting with the Normans and medieval power structures, before exploring global perspectives like the Kingdom of Benin through the 'meanwhile, elsewhere' approach. This helps pupils build on prior knowledge while developing broader thinking and connecting ideas across time and place.

Teachers' subject knowledge is strong, enabling them to deliver the curriculum effectively. This ensures that pupils gain both knowledge and skills over time. Teachers use assessment purposefully to check understanding and guide teaching.

This helps pupils consolidate and apply their learning. For example, teachers often revisit key concepts to ensure retention. However, on occasions, some teaching activities are not broken down sufficiently for certain pupils, which can hinder their ability to learn as effectively as they should.

The school identifies pupils' needs effectively, ensuring that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported in lessons. For instance, teachers use methods such as sentence starters and targeted questioning effectively to help pupils access the curriculum and succeed in their learning.

The school supports pupils who are at the early stages of reading through phonics interventions and buddy reading with older pupils.

Reading is embedded across the curriculum, with initiatives like 'disciplinary literacy' encouraging pupils to read as scientists or historians. This approach helps pupils develop a lasting appreciation for reading.

Personal development is coherently planned.

Pupils learn about careers, relationships and online safety through dedicated lessons and registration time. The 'culture code' and 'culture shots' help build character and resilience, while 'inspiration days' provide enriching opportunities to explore key themes. However, some aspects of personal development are more strongly embedded than others.

Older pupils' understanding of world faiths is not as detailed as it could be. This can limit their ability to fully appreciate commonalities across different communities.

The school is calm and orderly, with pupils demonstrating positive behaviour in lessons and around the school.

They enjoy attending and value the supportive environment, often reflecting a sense of gratitude towards staff. The school promotes strong attendance through targeted initiatives, including rewards and regular monitoring. Kindness cards further encourage respect and foster positive relationships across the school community.

Those responsible for governance understand and fulfil their duties well. Trustees have a robust and accurate evaluation of the school, enabling them to prioritise key areas for improvement. Leaders provide strong support for staff, considering workload and well-being effectively.

Staff report feeling well supported and proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasions, teaching activities are too broad for a small number of pupils.

For these pupils, these activities are too much to process. They lose focus and do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that teaching activities are organised for all pupils to engage effectively.

• Some aspects of the provision for pupils' personal development in certain year groups are not as well embedded as they are in other year groups. As a result, some older pupils do not develop strong understanding of a range of faiths and cultures. Leaders must ensure that all opportunities for personal development are well embedded and of equal high quality across all year groups.