Southway Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a caring environment where all pupils are made to feel welcome. Pupils are safe and well looked after.

They enjoy positive relationships with staff who motivate pupils to do their best. Pupils work hard in lessons and achieve high standards. They focus and show resilience in their learning.

Pupils rise to the high expectations of behaviour which underpin the school values. They understand, for example, the importance of kindness and respect for all.

Teamwork is an integral part of school life.

Pupils work well together, such as on 'house charity day', where they organise an event to raise money for their chosen charities. 'Values ...visionaries' gather pupils' views and work with each other on proposed changes to the school. The school encourages pupils to be responsible citizens.

For example, 'litter leaders' and 'bird hide monitors' look after the school's outside areas and help to protect the environment.

A wide range of educational trips and activities are in place to enrich pupils' learning and broaden their horizons. Music and sports are well promoted, with plenty of opportunities for pupils to nurture their talents and interests.

These include various musical groups, singing performances, sports clubs and tournaments.

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

The school offers a broad and ambitious curriculum. Recently, leaders have reviewed and changed the curriculum in some subjects.

Staff agree with these changes and value the school's collaborative approach. They appreciate that leaders are mindful of staff well-being and workload when making decisions. Governors strike a clear balance between holding leaders to account and supporting them well.

With school leaders, governors have played a pivotal role in navigating the school through leadership changes over the past year.

The school has made well-considered choices about what should be taught and when. Learning is sequenced to build up pupils' knowledge over time such as understanding of chronology in history and developing mathematical skills.

Ongoing training opportunities ensure teachers are secure in their subject-specific knowledge. Teachers check pupils' understanding carefully and use appropriate resources to support learning. As a result, pupils achieve well in many subjects, as reflected in national assessment outcomes at the end of Year 6.

They can recall essential knowledge and apply it to new learning. However, some subjects are at an earlier stage of review and development. There is some variability in the implementation of the curriculum in these subjects.

As a result, pupils' knowledge is less secure.

The school promotes a love of reading. The '100 book challenge', for example, inspires many pupils to read a wide range of high-quality texts.

Older pupils act as 'buddy readers' to support younger pupils with their reading. The school is quick to identify weaker readers when they join the school. Often, this includes increasingly close work with the nearby infant school.

Staff provide effective support to address gaps in pupils' phonics knowledge so these pupils catch up quickly.

The school has effective systems in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It takes action to meet the needs of an increasing number of pupils with SEND.

In many ways, the school makes appropriate adaptations to help pupils with SEND learn. For example, successful strategies include pre-teaching and the use of vocabulary banks. However, some pupils with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils struggle to learn well.

This is often because they have not securely learned the foundational knowledge they need to complete some lesson activities. This means they do not always learn as much as they could.

Staff follow a consistent approach to managing behaviour.

Pupils are well behaved, polite and friendly. Attendance rates are high. The school is meticulous in its work to identify and address any concerns around attendance and punctuality.

Staff work with families to break down any barriers to regular school attendance.

Pupils' personal development weaves through the curriculum. Pupils are knowledgeable about aspects such as diet and exercise, how to look after their mental health and online safety.

They learn about diversity and are taught to accept people's differences.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Recent changes to the curriculum are not fully embedded.

There is some variability in the delivery of the curriculum in some subjects. This means that pupils have not gained the depth of knowledge they should have. The school should continue with its work to develop and embed the curriculum.

• At times, curriculum thinking and teaching adaptations do not take pupils' needs fully into account. Some pupils, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, struggle to access learning as a result. The school should continue its work to ensure that suitable adaptations are made so all pupils can successfully learn the school's ambitious curriculum.