Limes Farm Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Limes Farm Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending school and value the opportunities staff give them to learn and grow. Pupils quickly understand and live up to the school's values. They willingly follow the example of adults by sharing kindness with each other.

Pupils extend similar care for others by taking on positions of responsibility at the school, such as serving as a play leader on the playground. Pupils and their families appreciate staff's efforts to ensure the well-being of those in the school's community.

Pupils are safe at school.

They know staff are prepared to listen and help with a...ny concerns about their experiences inside or outside of school. Pupils say, and school records show, that bullying is uncommon at the school. When bullying does occur, staff quickly make sure it stops and does not continue.

Pupils share leaders' high expectations for learning and achievement. They know that learning is important, so they work hard in lessons. Pupils also have fun learning beyond the classroom.

They enjoy and benefit from the educational visits to sites of local, national and international interest, along with the many clubs staff provide.

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

Leaders have designed a well-organised curriculum that makes clear for teachers most of what needs to be taught. In most subject areas, plans clarify where teachers should connect knowledge between subjects and revisit what has already been covered.

Teachers use leaders' guidance consistently and deliver the curriculum effectively.

Teachers check what pupils remember and can do effectively. They provide useful feedback, which helps pupils improve their learning.

Consequently, pupils remember most of what they have been taught. In some areas of the curriculum, however, leaders' plans are less well developed. Where this is the case, leaders have not clarified exactly what knowledge they expect pupils to acquire and have not arranged learning in a logical order.

As a result, pupils do not learn these topics as well as they could.Staff inspire pupils to love reading. Pupils are provided with books they find interesting and that match their reading abilities.

Those who find reading hard receive help and support. Since the national restrictions during the pandemic, many more pupils have been identified as struggling to master the basic skills of reading, including phonics. Most of these have been given effective help.

However, leaders' approach is not sufficiently refined to enable those who are further behind to catch up as quickly as they could.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported effectively. Leaders identify pupils' needs accurately and put in place effective support measures.

The school has high ambitions for these pupils. Using up-to-date training, staff develop approaches that help these pupils to learn what they need.

Lessons are purposeful and focused on learning.

Leaders have created an ethos where pupils study hard and approach learning with determination and concentration. Different resources provided by staff help pupils to solve their own problems without going directly to an adult for help. They also support each other well in the face of learning challenges.

On the rare occasions when a pupil's behaviour does not meet expectations, staff use leaders' behaviour policy consistently and behaviour improves.

Pupils have enriching opportunities to learn about themselves and the wider world. Staff teach pupils how to reflect on, discuss and manage their emotional needs very well.

They also ensure that pupils learn to value the diverse lifestyles and beliefs in contemporary Britain.

Leaders have built positive relationships with pupils, parents and staff. Parents and pupils express great confidence in leaders.

Staff responding to the online survey report that the school is well led and managed. They said that they enjoy working at the school and feel well supported by leaders to maintain a reasonable workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are well trained to be alert and deal with safeguarding concerns effectively. They act swiftly and appropriately when concerns arise. Pupils are confident that they can talk with staff when worried about school or issues at home.

Leaders work well with external agencies and make sure that vulnerable pupils receive the support they need.

The curriculum content makes sure that pupils are taught to know how to stay safe at school, home and online.

Leaders ensure that background checks are carried out to determine the suitability of adults working at the school.

Governors scrutinise leaders' safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that they are carried out effectively.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few areas of the curriculum, leaders have not fully clarified and organised what pupils must learn. As a result, those areas are not taught as well and pupils do not always learn and remember what they need.

Leaders must make clear and sequence exactly what pupils need to know and understand across all areas of the curriculum. ? Help and support are in place for pupils who struggle or who have fallen behind with reading. While most of these catch up, a few of those who are furthest behind and need extra support with basic phonics are not catching up as well as they could.

This is particularly the case with pupils who fell behind during the pandemic. Leaders must ensure that they provide the support needed for all pupils to improve their reading quickly.

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

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2012.

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