Lydgate Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lydgate Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Lydgate Junior School is a 'Rights Respecting School'.

Pupils learn about the rights of others, including the right to feel safe and the right to learn without disruption. Respect for these rights is evident throughout school. Pupils behave well.

Teachers can teach, pupils can learn. Pupils achieve highly in their reading and mathematics at the end of Year 6. Pupils do not achieve as well in writing, but this is improving.

Pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn effectively across a wide range of subjects. They are well prep...ared for secondary school.

This school is a community where pupils get along well with each other and with adults.

There is a strong sense of everyone pulling in the same direction. Pupils understand what bullying is and the negative impact it has on others. Parents, carers and pupils are happy that, on the rare occasions when bullying occurs, leaders deal with it effectively.

Pupils benefit from a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs and groups. These include a range of musical opportunities. The annual school musical is a highlight of the school year with members of the local community and ex-pupils performing alongside current pupils.

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

Leaders, including governors, have accurately identified the many strengths of the school and the areas where they want to do better. They have thought about which changes will make the biggest difference to pupils. Leaders are aware that introducing too many changes at once is unmanageable for staff.

They have prioritised work in the most important areas, including writing. Leaders have developed detailed improvement plans. They monitor the impact of these plans effectively.

Improvement in pupils' writing is already evident across school.

Reading has a high priority across all year groups. Pupils read their own choice of book daily.

Leaders have mapped out 'class reads' carefully so that pupils experience a wide range of texts. Where appropriate, leaders have chosen these texts to complement learning in geography, history and other areas of the curriculum.

Pupils who arrive at school without a secure knowledge of phonics receive dedicated phonics lessons.

The school has provided staff with the training they need to deliver these sessions well. Once their phonics knowledge is secure, these pupils continue to read regularly to adults to help develop their reading fluency. The support for these pupils, including pupils with SEND, is strong.

Curriculum leaders have sufficient time to manage their subjects well. In most subjects, the school has identified clearly what pupils should learn and when. Where plans are not as detailed, such as in history, leaders are taking appropriate action to improve these.

Curriculum leaders work closely with the local infant school to ensure that learning in Year 3 builds on what pupils have learned in Year 2. This helps pupils get off to a rapid start when joining the school.

The school provides teachers with the training and resources they need to deliver high-quality lessons.

Where teachers' subject knowledge is stronger, such as in mathematics, they skilfully adapt these resources to meet the needs of pupils. In lessons, teachers make suitable checks on pupils' learning and adjust their teaching when necessary. However, the school has not developed consistent systems to check that pupils can remember what they have learned in the long term.

This limits the information that the school has to monitor the impact of the curriculum and identify any next steps.

The school has high expectations for behaviour. Pupils behave well in lessons.

Low-level disruption is rare. When it does occur, staff deal with it effectively so that it has little impact on the learning of other pupils. Pupils' behaviour at social times is more boisterous.

Staff do not always challenge this behaviour quickly enough. However, pupils play well together and get along.

Through a comprehensive personal development programme, pupils learn about the world they are growing up in, including how to keep themselves safe.

Pupils know about the risks they may face, including online, and how to minimise these risks.

Leaders are resolute in their work to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. They work closely with families to address any barriers to pupils' regular attendance.

Consequently, pupils' attendance is high.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not implemented consistent systems for assessing what pupils remember in the longer term.

This prevents leaders from accurately evaluating the impact of the curriculum design and implementation, including making any necessary changes. The school should ensure that subject-specific approaches to assessment are in place and that leaders use this information consistently to assess whether pupils are learning and remembering the intended curriculum.

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 November 2012.