Stalyhill Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

The school is well-led. Senior leadership is a strength. Governors know the school well and their support is extremely strong.

Their work in holding staff to account is effective. Pupils' achievement is good. From their individual starting points, all groups of pupils, including the most able, make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

Teaching is good and an increasing proportion is outstanding. This is because teachers know their pupils well and usually plan work which challenges pupils of different abilities to think for themselves. Well-presented work in pupils' books is of a high standard.

By the end o...f Year 6, pupils attain standards that are above average and often well-above average The behaviour of pupils is good. A culture of high expectation abounds and the school motto: 'Only my best is good enough for me.' is fully evident.

The school pays outstanding attention to safety. Pupils say they feel extremely safe in school and their parents agree. As a result, the school is a warm and harmonious community built around respect for each other and the environment.

Teachers prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain through a highly imaginative and creative curriculum. Music and sports specialists, as well as the school's strong partnerships with other schools locally, are used extremely well to enrich pupils' experiences and life skills. The school continues to improve because leaders share a good understanding of what needs to be done to improve the school further.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Pupils of different abilities are not always set tasks that are at the correct level of difficulty. This sometimes slows their progress. Subject leaders are not always skilful enough in checking the quality of teaching and pupils' learning in their areas of the curriculum and so they are not fully effective.

Information about this school

This school is an average-sized junior school. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs is below the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well below the national average.

The term disadvantaged pupils is used to describe those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority. These pupils receive additional support from pupil premium funding. The majority of pupils are White British.

A small proportion is from various ethnic minorities. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. The school is part of a local cluster of schools.