Beeston Rylands Junior School

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

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Mrs Jackie Moss Executive Headteacher Beeston Rylands Junior School Trent Road Beeston Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG9 1LJ

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 27 March 2018, 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 April 2014.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior 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 Beeston Rylands Junior School

Since your appointment in September 2016, you have embraced the executive headteacher role with enthusiasm and tenacity. You use your considerable knowledge of the neighbouring infant school to help inform and enrich all of school life. The staff and governors across the two schools collaborate effectively to help improve the provision for all of the pupils. You and the head of school have developed a thorough and effective system to evaluate what is happening in the school. Senior leaders demonstrate a sound knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for development.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

You have worked closely with teachers and other adults in classes to improve the quality of teaching at the school, and there is a consistent approach to teaching and learning in all classes. Senior leaders closely monitor what is happening in lessons and track the progress of individuals carefully. You have identified the opportunity for middle leaders to begin to observe teaching and learning across the school, in their respective subjects, in order to develop these skills and to further strengthen the leadership team.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

You are well supported by the governing body, with members demonstrating a range of skills and showing a very good understanding of the strengths of the school, together with areas that need further development. They speak confidently about external assessment information and have clearly addressed this aspect of governance, which was weaker at the previous inspection.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

The previous inspector highlighted the need for pupils to make more rapid progress and to take greater care with their work, by ensuring that there was an appropriate quantity and quality of work, presented neatly with spelling, punctuation and grammar errors being corrected. A scrutiny of pupils’ books shows that there have been considerable improvements in the quality of work since the inspection. Pupils clearly take pride in their work across all subjects. This demonstrates the high expectations that teachers have with regard to presentation and the focus on ensuring that feedback is meaningful and helps pupils to make accelerated progress.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

As a result of the effective teaching and learning, there have been considerable improvements to the standards and progress made by pupils. In 2017, there were clear upward trends in the end of key stage 2 results, particularly with respect to writing and mathematics. A key line of enquiry was to ascertain whether these improvements are being sustained in current classes. After visiting classes and looking at work in books, I am pleased to confirm that these successes continue to be built on. Your assessment system is clear and accurate, it shows that most pupils are making good or better progress in reading, writing and mathematics currently.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

You recognise that some disadvantaged pupils have attained less well and made less progress than others in the school, particularly in mathematics in upper key stage 2. However, your analysis and work in books show that many disadvantaged pupils now often make better progress than their peers, particularly in writing.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

Pupils are polite and welcoming. They are almost always respectful of each other and of adults in the school. The behaviour of pupils, in and out of lessons, is generally very positive. They enjoy coming to school and they wear their uniforms with pride. Attendance is well above national averages. Pupils clearly appreciate the opportunities they have to take on responsibilities, such as being school councillors, playtime buddies or eco members. This helps to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Pupils are well engaged in their learning and speak enthusiastically about the topics they have covered, which often link a variety of curriculum areas. For instance, one pupil described a recent lesson where he created a social media page for Henry VIII.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

The school is committed to developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There are daily assemblies with a wide variety of themes, and consideration of different world religions. There is rich evidence of the broad and balanced curriculum, in books and displays. There are many opportunities for pupils to take responsibilities and to help enrich school life, which helps prepare them for life in modern Britain.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

You and the staff know the pupils and their families well, and the school strives to be at the heart of the local community. The majority of parents and carers are very positive about all aspects of school life. One parent who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, described ‘the very positive and nurturing atmosphere in the school’.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

You and your staff place the highest emphasis on keeping your pupils safe. You make sure that safeguarding arrangements are robust and you maintain clear and comprehensive documentation. You ensure that all appropriate checks take place before adults start to work with pupils in school. Safeguarding records show that the school works closely with the local authority and other external agencies when you have any concern about a pupil’s welfare. Staff and governors receive regular training to keep their knowledge and practice up to date.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

Every pupil spoken to, or who responded to the pupils’ online survey, said that they feel safe in school and would know who to talk with should they have any worries or concerns. Instances of bullying are rare. Although there have been a small number of issues, these are not typical and have been dealt with effectively by leaders. There are detailed records of the actions taken, with behaviour and anti- bullying logs being used to highlight any recurring trends quickly, to ensure that timely action can be taken.

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Short inspection of Beeston Rylands Junior School

Attendance at the school has improved noticeably in recent years. It is now above that of schools nationally. Rates of persistent absence have also fallen markedly and there have been no exclusions in recent times. This reflects the positive ethos apparent in school, with the vast majority of pupils saying they enjoy school life.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders at all levels are highly ambitious for the school and want pupils to do as well as possible, both academically and socially. You have a clear understanding of the strengths of the school. Development planning is focused and strategic; you have clearly identified what you would like to do to improve the provision further.  Governors know the school well. They understand the purpose of their respective roles and show an effective balance between supporting and challenging school leaders. They help ensure that any additional funding is spent appropriately.  You embrace opportunities to liaise and collaborate with the neighbouring infant school and the local family of schools. This has strengthened your monitoring and moderation activities, and helps ensure that your assessments are accurate.  Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the increased emphasis on reading across the school. Each class has its own quality text, which they read, explore and discuss

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Inspection findings

during focused sessions throughout each week. Parents reported that this approach has helped their children to establish a love of reading at home.  Outcomes for pupils have shown considerable improvements. This was particularly apparent in the attainment and progress of pupils in writing and mathematics at key stage 2 in 2017. Upward trends were evident in all subjects, and for different groups of pupils, including those disadvantaged. Current tracking information shows that these improvements are being sustained, with the majority of pupils making good or better progress across the curriculum.  The pupil premium strategy is detailed and evaluative. The additional funding is spent well, although you acknowledge that there is still work to do to further improve the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Teachers and other adults show a high level of commitment to diminishing any differences, by consistently

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Inspection findings

targeting questions and tasks in order to support disadvantaged pupils to make accelerated progress.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well, in and out of lessons. As a result, these pupils generally make good progress from their individual starting points.  Analysis of 2017 assessment data highlighted that boys outperformed girls, particularly in reading when compared to boys and national averages. However, this is not a typical trend, and your analysis indicates that gender differences vary depending on specific cohorts. Currently, girls are achieving at least in line with boys in the school.  The vast majority of parents are supportive of the school and are generally very pleased with the support their children receive, academically and pastorally.

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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

 the recent focus on improving the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils becomes firmly embedded, so that differences between the achievement of these pupils and their peers are diminished further, particularly in reading and mathematics  middle leaders extend their practice and further develop their leadership skills by having greater opportunities to monitor the teaching and learning of the subjects they lead.

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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 Nottinghamshire County Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and the head of school on several occasions. I shared my key lines of enquiry with you both. I also met with members of your middle leadership team, the chair of governors and other members of the governing body. I met with a group of pupils from Years 5 and 6, and spoke with many other pupils informally. I considered the 24 responses received on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and 13 responses to a staff survey. The views of the 10 pupils who responded to a pupil survey were also taken into account.

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Information about the inspection

Together with yourself and the head of school, I visited all classes to see the learning that was taking place. I looked at a sample of pupils’ English and mathematics books, and their individual learning journeys. I observed the behaviour of pupils in and out of lessons, on the playground and during a wet lunchtime. I looked at a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation summary and improvement planning, assessment information, the pupil premium strategy and documentation relating to safeguarding.

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