Thomlinson Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders have secured significant improvements in teaching since the last inspection. As a result, standards are rising and pupils make consistently good progress as they move through the school.

Pupils say that they really enjoy mathematics. Their progress in this subject is particularly rapid because teachers make lessons exciting and relevant to pupils' experience and interests. Pupils' progress in writing has improved and is now good because teachers give pupils so many opportunities to write across many different subjects and for a range of purposes.

Teachers are skilled in choosing activities that are relevant to pupils' own experien...ces and give a real purpose to their learning. This means that pupils are keen to learn and take pride in their achievements and behave well. Pupils are very safe in school and have every confidence that the adults in school care for them and are always willing to help.

They typically comment that teachers 'think about you as a person and not just as a pupil'. The broad and balanced curriculum is a real strength of the school. It is rich in opportunities for pupils to extend their learning through a range of interesting trips and visits, including residential visits that support pupils' good social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

Governors are well informed on the school's performance. They play an active part in improvement planning in addition to securing the long-term financial stability of the school. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers sometimes give lower-attaining pupils tasks that are either too difficult to complete or not challenging enough to move them forward in their learning.

Consequently, these pupils do not always make rapid enough progress to catch up with pupils of a similar age. Leaders do not always check whether or not short-term support arrangements to help lower-attaining pupils with gaps in their learning are working. This limits leaders' ability to intervene swiftly and try a different approach to prevent pupils from falling behind further.

Information about this school

Thomlinson Junior School is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The majority of children are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs or a disability is well above average.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is average. The pupil premium is additional government funding given to schools for disadvantaged pupils who qualify for free school meals or for children who are looked after by the local authority. The school has a specially resourced provision with places for four pupils with severe and multiple learning difficulties.

There are currently three pupils accessing this provision. The school meets the government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics. The school meets the requirements for publishing information on its website.