St Paul’s CofE Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to belong to this diverse and friendly school community. They strive to live out the values of their school family in all that they do. A shared culture of high expectations permeates throughout.

Pupils want to achieve well.

The school's inclusive ethos supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Pupils acknowledge that some of their peers find learning more challenging than others.

They show kindness and respect in their actions. Reflecting this, one pupil said that when someone is struggling, 'we lend them some of our calm'. Pupils are polite and courteous to their peers and adults.

Old...er pupils are strong role models to those who are younger. Pupils are taught to recognise how their actions affect themselves and others. The school teaches them strategies to take responsibility for, and manage, their behaviour effectively.

Pupils are proud to carry out leadership roles in school. Pupils apply for responsibilities such as 'reading ambassadors', house captains and sports leaders. They carry these out with maturity.'

Well-being leaders' support pupils if they have any concerns. Pupils know that they can go to an adult if they are worried about something.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum.

In many subjects, precisely identified curriculum content ensures that teachers know exactly what pupils must learn. This means that teachers can check pupils' learning diligently and correct pupils' mistakes quickly. This is particularly strong in English and mathematics.

Pupils appreciate the timely feedback they receive from their teachers. This helps them to keep up with their learning. Pupils achieve well in these national tests.

Mostly, teachers design tasks that help pupils to learn well. They present knowledge clearly, using subject-specific language that develops pupils' vocabulary and builds their understanding. However, in some subjects in the wider curriculum, teachers do not use the most effective strategies to enable pupils to learn as well as they could.

The school recognises the need to strengthen teachers' knowledge further in how to help pupils achieve well in every subject.

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well, especially those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged in other ways. Pupils respond to this ambition.

This is because the school clearly identifies these pupils' needs precisely and accurately. Teachers receive regular training so that they can provide for pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged effectively. Adults support pupils' learning well.

They know the steps that are required to help pupils with their learning and development.

The teaching of reading is strong. The school is committed to ensuring that all pupils can read with confidence and enjoyment.

Staff ensure pupils benefit from a continuous, well-sequenced reading curriculum. Pupils experience high-quality texts of varying genres, which promotes pupils' acquisition of extended vocabulary. Although staff have the right expertise in teaching pupils to read, there are some pupils who do not catch up as quickly as they need to.

They do not always have enough practice in matching letters to sounds. This reduces their fluency and also limits their achievement in some areas of the curriculum.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning.

They work hard in lessons and behave well. The school works hard to encourage high attendance. When pupils' attendance is not what it should be, the school takes appropriate, bespoke action to ensure that attendance improves.

The school supports pupils' personal development well. Pupils learn to be tolerant and respectful of difference. They gain age-appropriate knowledge of healthy relationships and how to stay safe when online.

Clubs, such as those for chess, running and various sporting opportunities, help to nurture pupils' talents and interests.

There is a shared ambition across the school for all pupils to experience a high- quality education. A highly reflective set of governors works closely with leaders and staff to improve the school.

Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel valued, respected and well supported to do their jobs.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils are further behind in their reading than they should be and are not catching up quickly enough. This limits their success in some areas of the curriculum. The school should ensure that these pupils have sufficient opportunities for precise and accurate practice in order to apply their phonics knowledge, so that their reading becomes increasingly fluent as words become more familiar.

• In some subjects, teachers do not always design tasks that enable pupils to learn the intended curriculum effectively. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school needs to improve teachers' subject and teaching knowledge to ensure that they can support pupils to learn well across the whole curriculum.

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