Lister Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lister Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Lister Juniors is a welcoming and happy school.

Teachers expect all pupils to achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are eager to learn and they work hard in lessons.

Pupils feel well cared for and safe at school. Pupils from different backgrounds get on well with each other. They behave well in lessons and during breaktimes.

Pupils who spoke with the inspector said that if bullying were to happen, staff would deal it with quickly and effectively.

Pupils take part in a wide range of extra-curricular activ...ities, such as sports and visits to museums and residential outdoor centres. They recently enjoyed a forensic science workshop and a visit by a Tyrannosaurus-rex dinosaur.

Pupils have won competitions in performing arts and water polo. Older pupils love taking on positions of responsibility, such as supporting younger pupils with their reading.

Many parents and carers are very positive about the work of the staff and the support that their children receive.

A typical comment was, 'The nurturing care provided by the school is second to none. My child is encouraged and supported to do well.'

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

Leaders and governors are ambitious for all pupils.

Pupils learn the full range of national curriculum subjects. Staff organise a range of visitors and workshops to enhance pupils' learning.

Leaders have thought carefully about the knowledge that they want pupils to learn in many subjects.

This helps teachers to know what should be taught and when. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to revisit what they have learned. This contributes to pupils' strong achievement.

However, in some subjects, the curriculum lacks clarity about the important content that leaders want pupils to learn. This means that some pupils are not developing the building blocks of knowledge that they need as they move through the school.

Leaders have established ways to check what pupils know and can do in some subjects, such as mathematics and English.

However, in some other subjects, teachers' checks on pupils' learning are not as effective. They do not give teachers enough information to help plan for future learning. This means that, in a small number of subjects, pupils' learning does not build on what they already know.

Leaders have prioritised reading, so that pupils who enter Year 3 without a secure knowledge of phonics are helped to catch up quickly. Teachers are well trained in helping pupils to know the sounds that letters represent. Pupils deepen their knowledge by reading books that match the sounds that they know.

Leaders have introduced high-quality texts that help pupils to develop their comprehension skills well. Pupils said that they enjoy reading and they read daily in school. By the time they leave Year 6, pupils are confident and fluent readers.

Pupils with SEND are supported well. They have their needs identified quickly. Teachers adapt their teaching and use resources carefully to ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are met.

Leaders work effectively with a wide range of external agencies to support these pupils. Pupils with SEND have access to the full the curriculum and achieve well.

Pupils are respectful towards each other and their teachers.

Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Leaders place a high priority on supporting pupils' mental health. There is a calm and orderly atmosphere in the school.

Leaders help pupils to become active and responsible citizens. For example, useful links with a local organisation are raising pupils' awareness of sustainability issues. Pupils have the opportunity to learn about different cultures and religions through visits to different places of worship.

This helps them to develop tolerance of others.

Governors know the strengths and areas to develop in the school. They support and challenge leaders effectively.

For example, they have worked with leaders to improve the security of the site.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They said that leaders are considerate of their workload.

Staff work together as a team. They appreciate the training that they receive to develop their subject knowledge.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. This helps them to recognise signs of potential abuse. Staff know what to do if they have any worries about a pupil.

Leaders follow up any concerns promptly. They work closely with families and external agencies to keep pupils safe. Leaders know the local safeguarding risks and they provide opportunities for pupils to learn about these risks through the curriculum.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe when working online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not identified the most important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. This means that sometimes pupils cannot build on what they already know.

Leaders should ensure that the knowledge they want pupils to acquire is clear in all subject curriculums. This will enable teachers to design new learning that supports pupils to know more and remember more. ? Teachers are less well equipped to check how well pupils have learned the curriculum in subjects other than English and mathematics.

At times, this prevents teachers from building on what pupils already know and can do. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the skills and expertise to assess how well pupils are learning and remembering what they have been taught.

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 a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2016.

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