Poulner Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Poulner Junior School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this happy school.

The school's HEART values of honesty, excellence, attitude, respect and thoughtfulness are threaded through all aspects of school life. Pupils wear their heart badges with pride.

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well.

Pupils do their best to meet these high expectations. They are proud of their school and keen to tell visitors what they are learning. For example, pupils in Year 4 enthusiastically explained to the inspector how to construct a Viking longhou...se.

They know and understand the consequences of their actions. Pupils listen politely to each other and to adults. They recognise and respect that some of their classmates need different types of support to help them to behave well.

The school provides many opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles, such as house captains, play leaders and sports leaders. At the time of the inspection, pupils were eagerly looking forward to raising money for charity by breaking 'school rules', such as dressing to express or wearing their hair down.

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

The school has maintained the good standard of education identified at the previous inspection.

Leaders, including governors, are committed to providing the best-quality education for their pupils. Overall, pupils achieve well and are ready for their next stage of education.

The school prioritises teaching pupils to read confidently.

Pupils read and enjoy a wide range of quality texts. Pupils in Year 5 discussed how their opinion of the main character had changed the more they read the book. The school has implemented a well-sequenced phonics curriculum to support those pupils who are not reading as fluently or confidently as their peers.

It has ensured that staff are well trained and deliver the phonics programme to a high standard. The school ensures that pupils' early reading books match closely to the sounds that they know.

The school has recently reviewed its curriculum to ensure it is broad and ambitious.

Across all subjects, the school has made sure that key knowledge has been identified. Teachers know what has been taught previously and what pupils need to learn and remember over time.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

In lessons, they have increased opportunities for pupils to retrieve their learning. At the start of each lesson, teachers recap previous learning. However, the school is aware that teachers need to make more adaptations to ensure that disadvantaged pupils with barriers to their learning progress well through the intended curriculum.

The school has effective procedures in place to ensure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified and appropriate support put in place. School makes sure that these pupils receive the help they need, when they need it.

Pupils' personal development is a priority for the school.

Through the HEART values, and the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum, pupils learn the importance of fundamental British values. Pupils study a variety of different religions and cultures and visit different places of worship. They know the attributes they need to become a responsible citizen of the future.

Pupils know that discrimination is wrong and that everyone should have the same opportunities, regardless of any differences that they may have. They know the importance of eating healthily and exercising. As a result, older pupils are well prepared to recognise the impact on different emotions.

Governance is a strength of the school. The governing body provides effective support and challenge to the school in terms of improvement priorities. Staff's morale is high.

Staff are proud to be part of this school. They appreciate leaders' efforts in managing their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Across the curriculum, learning is not adapted effectively enough to ensure that disadvantaged pupils can succeed. As a result, they do not learn as well as they could.The school should make sure that teachers have the skills to identify the building blocks of learning that pupils need to work through, to ensure that disadvantaged pupils can learn the curriculum and make progress alongside their peers.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2019.

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