Scapegoat Hill Junior and Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Scapegoat Hill Junior and Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Scapegoat Hill is a friendly family school. One parent commented that 'there's a real sense of a community at the school.' All staff know the pupils well and have high expectations for them.

Pupils enjoy their friendships and say that their teachers help them to do well.

The school is in a federation with another local school. Pupils and staff value the chance to learn and work together.

The new headteacher has a clear vision about the improvements needed. Recent changes to leadership have strengthened the curriculum across the federation. Staff told us th...at this closer working was helping their workload.'

Confident and Creative Learners' (CCL) sessions are at the heart of the new vision and already an established part of the school's curriculum. The sessions are loved by staff, parents and pupils alike.

Pupils behave well in lessons and like to take part.

They enjoy coming to school. Pupils feel safe. Bullying is rare.

Pupils say that there is always someone to talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Staff quickly sort out any concerns. Pupils appreciate the school's 'learning festivals'.

They enjoy the chance to learn together with older and younger children. The strong sense of community goes beyond the school, with a range of local partnerships and events, such as the Peace Festival.

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

The newly appointed headteacher knows the school's strengths and weaknesses.

Leaders are ambitious for pupils. They have ensured that there is a strong curriculum in place. It is planned over a two-year cycle.

Creating confident and creative learners is at the heart of these plans. Teachers use the CCL sessions to check that pupils know and remember more. However, leaders are evaluating all subjects to check that they are well sequenced.

New curriculum leaders have not had the opportunity to check how well pupils are learning across all age groups. Leaders know they need to review the school's assessment procedures so that they have a clearer understanding of how well pupils are doing.In some subjects, pupils use what they have already learned well.

In physical education (PE) pupils make links across a range of subjects. For example, the dance teacher linked their learning back to the class text – 'Kensuke's Kingdom'. The mathematics curriculum is helping pupils to remember more.

Teachers organise lessons so that pupils build on what they know. They find out what pupils already know and remember by making links to previous learning. Staff plan learning using this information.

Older pupils told us that teachers use different ways to help them remember more. For example, pupils said that the CCL sessions gave them a chance to challenge their thinking in a 'hands-on' way. They told us that they had a chance to revisit their learning of shapes.

They did this through practical activities and used problem-solving and reasoning skills.

Leaders encourage pupils' love of reading. Teachers choose a wide variety of books for pupils to read at home.

Staff make recommendations and introduce pupils to a range of authors. Pupils can talk confidently about authors, stories and poems. The school council visit a local bookshop to buy new books.

Together with the owner, they make careful choices so that pupils have a wide range of books to read. Pupils love reading for pleasure. During the indoor lunchtime session, older pupils shared stories with younger children.

Younger children listened well and enjoyed reading together.

Children get off to a great start in the early years. They learn to listen alongside key stage 1 pupils and take turns.

They work well together. Being part of the Scapegoat Hill family is clear in the classroom displays and in the strong relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils achieve well in phonics.

Leaders have recently reorganised the reading books. Pupils now read books that contain the sounds they know. Staff are clear about what pupils should be able to read by the end of each term.

They use assessment information well to help pupils who need extra help with reading. A small number of pupils who are weaker at reading struggle with their confidence. They know their sounds, but they need lots of help to read fluently.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. This is because leaders have created a culture that includes everyone. Leaders want every child to have the same curriculum entitlement.

The special needs coordinator supports staff to provide work that is well matched to pupils' individual needs. All pupils have opportunities to develop their talents and interests. Clubs are available for everyone.

Pupils told us how they love the chance to represent their school at the local dance festival.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The headteacher and governors ensure that staff are well trained in safeguarding.

Governors receive appropriate training for their role, including training for the recruitment of staff. Governors and leaders make sure that appropriate checks are carried out on new members of staff.

Leaders have thought about particular risks in the local area.

They take their responsibilities to keep children safe seriously. Regular assemblies make sure that pupils know about these risks. For example, pupils understand how to stay safe, both online and at home.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders know that not all curriculum subjects are coherently planned and sequenced. However, it is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken that they are in the process of bringing this about. New curriculum leaders have not had the opportunity to check how well pupils are learning in their subjects.

They must systematically monitor and evaluate the sequencing across the entire subject in all year groups and whether these changes are helping pupils to know and remember more. Leaders must ensure that curriculum plans are carefully considered and well sequenced. Leaders should check that the content of each subject builds upon what pupils have learned previously.

. The books that pupils read match the sounds that pupils know. However, the weakest readers lack confidence, which means that they do not find it easy to become fluent readers.

This means that they are not catching up quickly enough. Leaders need to make sure that pupils have enough practice to read and that the extra practice is effective in helping them to become fluent readers.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Scapegoat Hill Junior and Infant School to be good on 26–27 April 2016.