Pennington Church of England Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this welcoming school. A shared culture of high expectations permeates throughout.

Pupils want to achieve well. They strive to be 'the best that they can be'. They appreciate the way adults help them to learn.

Pupils really are known as individuals, and the school uses this knowledge to provide pupils with well-thought-through support.

The school is highly inclusive. It is rightly proud of the high-quality pastoral support it offers to all pupils and their families.

Pupils behave well. They feel safe in school because relationships are strong. Pupils trust that adults will help them if they have any worries or concerns.

...>They are polite and respectful towards adults and to each other. In group conversations, pupils make sure that everyone is included. They invite one another to speak and provide ideas for their less confident peers to talk about.

Pupils take pride in the work they do to improve their school. They value opportunities to volunteer to help others, such as through the eco- and peer-mentor teams. Furthermore, pupils are excited that, by attending their school youth club, they are raising money to buy equipment to make their outdoor spaces even better.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. In many subjects, precisely identified curriculum content ensures that teachers know exactly what pupils must learn. This means that teachers can diligently check pupils' learning and quickly correct pupils' mistakes.

This is particularly strong in English and mathematics. In these subjects, the school has acted decisively to improve teaching following low statutory test results in 2023. Pupils appreciate the immediate feedback they now receive from their teachers.

This helps them to keep up with their learning. As a result of the school's swift actions, pupils are now achieving well in these subjects.

However, there are still some examples when teachers are not clear about the most important knowledge that pupils must know before new information is introduced.

For example, sometimes, in design and technology and in physical education, the subject knowledge that pupils must learn has not been specified. When this is the case, teachers cannot check on and address what pupils do not know and cannot do accurately enough. This often means that pupils are not ready for the next part of their learning.

Mostly, teachers design tasks that help pupils to learn well. They present knowledge clearly, using subject-specific language that develops pupils' vocabulary and builds their understanding. However, sometimes, teachers do not use the most effective strategies to enable pupils to learn as well as they could.

Leaders recognise the need to strengthen teachers' knowledge further in how to help pupils achieve well in every subject.

Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a strength of the school. The school has a robust system in place to identify and meet the needs of pupils who need additional help.

Pupils from the specially resourced provision integrate successfully into the school. All pupils with additional needs are supported well to develop their skills across the curriculum.

The school prioritises reading.

A well-structured approach supports those pupils at the early stages of learning to read to develop their phonics knowledge. Strong additional support ensures that pupils who need it catch up quickly with their peers.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning.

They work hard in lessons and behave well. The school works hard to encourage high attendance. When pupils' attendance is not what it should be, the school takes appropriate, bespoke action to ensure that attendance improves.

The school supports pupils' personal development well. Pupils learn to be tolerant and respectful of difference. They learn age-appropriate knowledge of healthy relationships and how to stay safe when online.

Clubs, such as those for gardening, art and various sporting opportunities, help to nurture pupils' talents and interests.

There is a shared ambition across the school for all pupils to experience a high-quality education. A highly reflective set of governors works closely with leaders and staff to continue to improve the school.

Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel valued, respected and supported to do their job well in continuing to make the key improvements to 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)

• In some subjects, the important subject-specific end-points are not identified precisely enough. Therefore, teachers do not have enough clarity on what knowledge pupils must secure before moving on to their next steps. The school needs to refine the subject-specific knowledge that pupils must know and remember so that teachers can check understanding more effectively.

• Sometimes, teachers do not design tasks that enable pupils to learn the intended curriculum effectively. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school needs to improve teachers' subject and teaching knowledge to ensure that they can support pupils to learn well across the whole curriculum.

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