Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Mike Tromans Headteacher Kings Norton Junior and Infant School Pershore Road South Kings Norton Birmingham West Midlands B30 3EU

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Following my visit with Catherine Crooks HMI to the school on 28 September 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2012.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

You took up your post in January 2014. You are ably supported by your deputy headteacher who was appointed at the beginning of this term. There has been a significant turnover of staff, subject leaders and governors over the last 18 months. Staff have readily stepped up to their greater responsibilities and they are thriving on their professional development. Governors have arranged for an external review to identify their training needs.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Your determination to provide each pupil with a range of pertinent and exciting learning opportunities is shared by staff, pupils and parents. You have clearly communicated your expectations and built a strong team of staff who are keen to ensure that all pupils succeed. You work closely with successful local schools to provide all staff with the support they need.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Pupils say the school feels like home because they know they are safe. They appreciate that staff welcome them warmly every day. Year 6 pupils explained that they have to ‘knuckle down’ to meet the high standards expected of them. Pupils of all ages are excited by recent approaches to rewarding their behaviour and standards of work. They know what is expected of them and they are proud to be ‘resilient’ and not give up.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

You have continued to focus sharply on the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection report. The improvements centred on teachers’ ability to provide pupils with suitable levels of challenge, build the pace of learning and enable pupils to grow in independence. The significant turnover of staff has meant that the areas for improvement remain a current priority. Leaders regularly check that teachers consistently adopt and implement agreed methods in their teaching. Staff receive weekly updates and training events so that expectations are reinforced and new ideas are shared and understood. As a result, their commitment and determination to improve are evident in lessons and pupils’ work.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

You have correctly identified that the most able pupils have not been recognised quickly enough or sufficiently challenged in the past. You closely track pupils’ progress in each subject. You and your staff are suitably aware of the progress individual pupils make, how identified weaknesses can be supported and which pupils require greater challenge. Teachers have quickly established a system of flexible grouping in lessons so that pupils complete tasks tailored to their success or difficulty encountered during the previous day. More is now expected of pupils, particularly in writing and mathematics, but they do not give up when challenges make them think or when they do not at first succeed. Pupils, parents, staff and governors are united in their belief that pupils are increasingly resilient and understand that learning can be tough at times.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Leaders, staff and governors demonstrate a strong commitment to keeping pupils safe. Regular and timely training, together with ongoing updates, ensure that all staff are alert to indications of harm in all of its forms. Concerns are acted upon speedily and additional agencies are informed where appropriate. Appropriate staff maintain thorough and detailed records to track referrals, investigations and decisions. They keep support and multi-agency involvement under frequent review.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Thorough assessments of risk are conducted before events, residential trips or educational visits. Staff and those with suitable expertise make health and safety checks in classrooms, outdoor areas and buildings.

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Short inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

All checks on staff, visitors and volunteers are complete, up to date and suitably detailed. Thorough checks are conducted on the appointment of staff, governors and volunteers. Pupils are knowledgeable about internet and mobile phone safety. They say they feel safe, secure and valued.

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Inspection findings

 You have clearly communicated your belief that all staff should have the highest expectations for pupils’ achievement, standards and conduct. You have also shared your conviction that learning should be exciting, enjoyable, relevant and engaging, as well as challenging and thought-provoking. Staff are at different stages of their career and experience and they are keen to learn from each other. You have provided ongoing training for staff to ensure their consistent commitment to planning enjoyable but purposeful learning experiences for pupils of all ages. Pupils confirm that learning is exciting and challenging. They also appreciate the many musical and sporting events they experience.  Leaders are successfully developing and implementing a range of approaches in different curriculum areas. There have been notable improvements in the teaching of phonics and the delivery of science work across the school.

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Inspection findings

Nevertheless, new subject leaders are at an early stage of taking on their responsibilities.  Pupils of all ages are absolutely clear about what they are learning in lessons and what they must do to demonstrate their understanding. Older pupils use this knowledge to give evaluative feedback to their classmates and indicate where improvements can be made. The pupils are impressively accurate. Pupils can confidently explain what they found difficult in one lesson and how tasks given to them the next day helped them to resolve their errors or misunderstanding.  Teachers use questioning skilfully to probe pupils’ understanding and help them to extend their thinking or express their ideas. They purposefully plan lessons to broaden pupils’ knowledge, deepen their understanding and enable them to acquire and apply necessary skills. Teaching assistants provide additional support and demonstrate a suitable level of knowledge relevant for their role.

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Inspection findings

 All adults have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and pupils of all ages respond enthusiastically. They are eager to succeed and do well in each lesson and show high levels of mutual respect and care during playtimes.  Pupils at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2016 did not achieve as well in writing as they did in other subjects. Leaders quickly identified writing as a key area for improvement. Writing books continued from last year demonstrate pupils did make progress over time but some classes did not write for a wide enough range of purposes and audiences. Leaders and staff have taken swift action and pupils’ previously acquired skills are being built upon without delay. Pupils are responding imaginatively and correctly. For example, a Year 3 pupil wrote, ‘…to my right, sparkly, glittery stars and suddenly I saw a hot, fumy asteroid above me.’ All pupils are keen to do better and eagerly ‘edit to improve’. They are

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Inspection findings

beginning to apply their writing skills to other subjects.  Less than half of the children achieved a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year in 2016. Children entering the Reception Year this month have settled quickly. Teachers and teaching assistants have been quick to establish clear expectations of children. Parents report their children are happy, making friends and already learning numbers, letters, sounds and words. Children know the routines of the day and line up after playtimes in a quiet and orderly manner. They work imaginatively and cooperatively. They are keen to explain and describe what they are doing and why. The children speak confidently and listen keenly. Teachers have quickly set about finding what the children know and can do and systematically plan the next steps.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 ambitious challenge is built into expectations of pupils so that they gain the higher standards appropriate for their age  recently appointed subject leaders develop the necessary skills to enable them to contribute fully to improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement  pupils build systematically on their writing skills and apply them fully for a wide range of purposes, subjects and audiences.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Birmingham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, we met you, the deputy headteacher, the literacy subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, a representative from the Birmingham Education Partnership, a representative of the Bourneville School Alliance, four governors, pupils and parents. We observed lessons with you and the deputy headteacher and looked at pupils’ work. I looked at the responses from Parent View. I looked at a range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation and plans for development. I considered information regarding pupils’ standards of attainment and rates of progress and a range of school policies including those for safeguarding, child protection, special educational needs and the impact of additional government funding. The inspection focused particularly on the progress and achievement of the most able pupils; how leaders have addressed the areas for improvement from the last inspection; standards of pupils’ writing; the quality of

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Information about the inspection

provision in the early years foundation stage; and safeguarding.

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