Ravenscote Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are immensely proud to attend this vibrant school. They love learning and behave exceptionally well.

Pupils live up to the school's high expectations to be 'purple people'. They know that 'being purple' means upholding values, such as respect and teamwork, and always trying their best.

At the heart of this school is an unconditional positive regard for all.

This is characterised by strong relationships and a caring and inclusive, respectful culture. These foster pupils' sense of belonging. Pupils acquire confidence and a belief that they can succeed, and succeed they do.

They achieve well across a broad range of subjects. Pupils leave the scho...ol well prepared and confident to embrace the new challenges and opportunities ahead of them.

Pupils benefit greatly from the school's exceptional range of extra activities on offer.

Enrichment afternoons create enjoyable new experiences, such as playing in a Samba band and learning Spanish. There is something for everyone in the numerous after-school clubs. Special events include the Christmas performances and the Year 6 annual theatre production.

These hold lasting memories for pupils and enable them to showcase their talents. Every pupil is supported to 'shine their light' and to find something that kindles their interests.

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

Reading has pride of place in the curriculum.

This is because leaders and staff know that reading unlocks a key to pupils' success in education. Phonics is taught systematically and rigorously for as long as is needed. This is until pupils have the knowledge and skills they need to read accurately and fluently.

The school immerses pupils in high-quality texts. These support pupils' wider reading knowledge and foster a love of reading. Pupils delight in using the attractive, well-resourced library on the 'reading bus'.

They aspire to earn tokens to acquire new books from the school's reading vending machine.

The school's curriculum is ambitious, well planned and taught well. Pupils benefit from a rich curriculum offer.

A key feature of this is how knowledge and skills are connected within and between subjects. This deliberate connectivity helps pupils to build new learning onto what they already know. For example, pupils learn about important key concepts, such as power and empire across different historical periods.

Teaching brings learning to life. Staff are adept at introducing and explaining new knowledge. Across a range of subjects, they are skilled at spotting and addressing gaps in pupils' learning.

Any additional needs are quickly identified. When needed, staff adapt their approach so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities can achieve success.

The impact of the school's work can be seen in pupils' strong achievement in end of key stage 2 statutory assessments.

However, some current pupils are not achieving as well as they could in writing. This is particularly in the lower years, where the quality of pupils' writing is sometimes hampered by weak grammar and punctuation. The school has recognised this and is in the process of putting in place a new writing strategy.

However, this is not fully embedded so it is too soon to see the impact of this work.

Pupils learn that everyone has a place in the school and wider world, no matter their beliefs or family background. This helps to create a harmonious and cohesive community, where friendships are forged.

The school's 'purple people positions' offer pupils many leadership opportunities. Responsibilities such as well-being ambassadors, prefects and school councillors are just some of the ways pupils support others in the school. Pupil voice is sought and welcomed, including through the school council.

For example, pupils participated in the selection process for the school's new catering company.

The school's aspirational leadership and governance are firmly rooted in the moral purpose to provide the best for every pupil. This is the basis for all decision-making.

Staff benefit from high-quality training and professional guidance. They are wholly committed to the school, love working here and share leaders' high ambition.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Currently, there are inconsistencies in the quality of pupils' writing, particularly in the lower part of the school. Typically, some pupils' achievement in this subject is hampered by weak sentence construction, punctuation and spelling. The school needs to embed its new writing strategy and ensure that teachers have the knowledge they need to implement this consistently well.

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