Riders Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a caring and inclusive school. The vision of 'standing together with our community to unlock opportunity and secure achievement for all' reflects aspiration for everyone. Pupils are happy and welcoming.

They feel valued and know how well the school keeps them safe. Staff show kindness and dedication. Ambitions for pupils' success are high, but not realised.

Pupils do not achieve well enough, including the very high proportions of disadvantaged pupils. While behaviour has improved for many, expectations for learning behaviour are not always high. Lessons can be disrupted by pupils who are less motivated to learn.

At the time of the last inspection, the...re had been turbulence with leadership. That uncertainty continued until recently, further affecting the quality of education. However, current leaders are now driving some successful improvements.

Their shared ambition and values are increasingly bringing out the best in everyone. Personal development is the school's strength. Pastoral care is impressive, from the nurturing gardening club to a whole range of mental health and well-being provision across the school.

Pupils learn to be responsible citizens through a diverse offer of extracurricular experiences. Visitors with physical disabilities have been particularly inspirational. They regularly visit to share their sporting and artistic accomplishments, empowering pupils to overcome challenges.

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

The school provides effective help for the high proportions of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff sharply assess pupils' individual needs before adapting support, activities and resources, so everyone can access the school's broad curriculum.

At the last inspection, teachers sometimes lacked subject knowledge to teach the curriculum successfully.

This has improved as a result of effective support from leaders. The school has developed its approach to help pupils to practise and recall essential knowledge better. The curriculum is planned well, but the quality of teaching is not always consistent.

In the strongest lessons, pupils concentrate and contribute positively, and teachers check their understanding precisely. This means that in mathematics, more pupils are working closer to expectations for their age including the many pupils who are disadvantaged. However, subjects are at different stages of development.

In geography, many pupils securely learn and remember key content over time. Other subjects, such as religious education, have not been consistently well taught. This causes gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding.

In 2023, pupils achieved significantly below national averages by the end of Year 6. Current pupils' achievement is stronger than it was but is not yet consistent across the curriculum.

Reading has been prioritised to help pupils feel more positive about books.

Pupils enjoy reading the diverse texts in the school library. The school has provided training to upskill staff, but phonics teaching is not consistently strong. Pupils who struggle to read with fluency and comprehension need more effective support to catch up.

Staff help pupils to manage their emotions using patience and expertise. This enriches many pupils' well-being and helps their behaviour. However, some pupils show less engagement in learning.

This can distract others, and teachers do not always address learning disruptions consistently. For too long, attendance has been low. However, improvements have recently been secured.

Attendance is high priority for leaders, and persistent absence has reduced as a result of their effective actions, including impressive pastoral work.

Assemblies and curriculum activities provide pupils with a valuable understanding of modern Britain. Relationships are respectful, and pupils are passionately opposed to discrimination.

Pupils' cultural development is enriched through celebrations including Chinese New Year and Holi. Pupils learn about democracy when electing team captains and school councillors. Other leadership roles include junior police community support officer, reading ambassador and road safety officer.

Talents are nurtured through a range of sport and music opportunities, including singing in a major arena. Leaders make certain that the high numbers of disadvantaged pupils never miss out, ensuring their high involvement in a rich variety of free clubs, from cookery to football.

Leaders are committed, compassionate and reflective.

They care deeply about the school community, and their focussed efforts are beginning to have positive impact. Governors provide suitable support and fulfil statutory duties with diligence. Despite uncertainty over leadership in recent years, staff feel highly supported and are proud of their school.

They value how recent curriculum and pastoral improvements are benefiting pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Phonics teaching and reading support are not consistently strong.

As a result, too many pupils struggle to read with accuracy, confidence and comprehension. The school must ensure that support for weaker readers is consistently effective to help them catch up and read fluently by the end of Year 6. ? Some variability exists in the quality of teaching across different subjects and classes.

This means that pupils do not learn and remember key content successfully. The school should continue supporting teachers to equip them with the required skills so they provide clear explanations, design effective tasks and accurately check pupils' understanding. They should use this information to inform future teaching to help pupils achieve consistently well across the curriculum.

• Attendance has been too low for too long. Pupils are missing out on important learning and social time at school. Leaders have achieved some progress, and must re-double their efforts to reduce absence further, especially for disadvantaged pupils.

• Expectations for learning behaviour are not consistently high. Sometimes, pupils show low engagement and distract others from their learning. The school must ensure that high expectations are consistently met in lessons to help all pupils achieve their best.

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