Aughton Primary Academy

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

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Mrs Elizabeth Swindells Principal Aughton Junior Academy Turnshaw Avenue Aughton Sheffield South Yorkshire S26 3XQ

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

Following my visit to the school on 19 June 2019, 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in November 2012.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have worked closely with leaders and staff to sustain a sense of team work and an ethos in which pupils can achieve well. The noticeable improvement in teaching and the standards pupils are currently achieving is down to a strong collaboration from all those connected to the school. As a result, Aughton Junior Academy is an improving school and has the capacity to improve further.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

You know the school well. Where you have identified necessary developments, your actions have been effective and are leading to improvements in pupils’ learning and progress. Subject leaders have successfully introduced new approaches to the teaching of English and mathematics. They have correctly identified the next steps they need to take to improve the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

Since the last inspection, the school has converted to an academy and joined the Aston Community Education Trust (the trust). Leaders and staff work in close collaboration with other schools within the trust to share good practice and participate in a range of professional development opportunities. This is contributing to the improvement in teaching and pupils’ learning.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

Pupils are cheerful and polite. They are proud to wear their school uniforms, which they say makes them feel smart. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is good. Classrooms are calm working environments where pupils work hard and have excellent attitudes to learning. Pupils get on well with each other and relationships between pupils and adults are positive.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

Governors and trustees know the school well and provide effective support and challenge. They support you fully in your drive to improve learning experiences for pupils. Governors and trustees know the strengths of the school and work well with school leaders to drive improvements.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

At the time of the previous inspection, you were asked to increase opportunities for pupils to undertake more investigations and practical tasks. The wooded area on the school site enables pupils to investigate wildlife and complete practical activities such as measuring and weighing. Teachers also provide opportunities for practical tasks in mathematics, such as using the playground area to develop their understanding of fractions.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

During the last inspection, you were also urged to improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better. You have ensured that teachers have received good professional development opportunities to improve their teaching, and pupils are making stronger progress as a result. Effective teaching of phonics is giving pupils a firm foundation on which to develop good reading skills. Pupils also apply their phonics knowledge when spelling simple and more difficult words. Evidence from observations of learning and pupils’ workbooks shows that most-able pupils currently in the school are being challenged. However, this is not consistent in all classes.

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Short inspection of Aughton Junior Academy

There is a strong culture of safeguarding pupils at the school. All arrangements for safeguarding are fit for purpose. You and your leaders for safeguarding are scrupulous in your procedures for keeping children safe. Leaders ensure that staff are trained and are alert to signs that suggest pupils might not be safe. Consequently, they know what to do should a safeguarding issue or concern arise. You and your leaders act on and refer any safeguarding concerns to appropriate agencies in a timely manner. This has enabled vulnerable pupils and families to receive appropriate support when they need it. Your procedures for recruiting, vetting and checking staff are thorough.

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Inspection findings

 When looking in books, we both agreed that there were examples of beautifully presented work; pupils’ handwriting is neat and legible. It is clear that pupils take a great pride in their work.  The teaching of mathematics is improving because of strong leadership of the subject and training that teachers have received. Teachers ensure that pupils are moved on in their work when they are ready and the activities they complete mostly match their needs. Pupils apply their arithmetic skills to complex problems well.  As part of the inspection, we looked at the differences in writing attainment between girls and boys in key stage 1. 2018 assessment information for the end of key stage 1 shows that a greater proportion of girls attained expected and higher standards than boys. You and your leaders have introduced strategies to address this, such as topics in English that appeal to boys and close tracking of

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Inspection findings

the progress they make. Work in pupils’ books shows you are successful with improving the standards boys attain in writing in key stage 1.  Additional funding is effectively used to ensure that disadvantaged pupils have the same learning opportunities as other pupils. Everyone in school is committed to pupils having equal opportunities. You rigorously monitor and review the provision for disadvantaged pupils and ensure they make the progress of which they are capable. As a result, disadvantaged pupils are making better progress this year than they have in the past.  As part of the inspection, I also wanted to consider whether most-able pupils are challenged enough. Leaders are focusing on further raising expectations and the quality of teaching to enable more pupils to reach greater depth at the end of key stage 1 and higher standards at the end of key stage 2. Teachers have undertaken good professional development that is helping them plan learning

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Inspection findings

that closely matches the needs of these pupils. However, most-able pupils are not yet challenged consistently in all classes.

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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

 strategies to improve the progress of most-able pupils in key stage 1 and key stage 2 are firmly embedded.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Rotherham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, a member of the trust’s school improvement team, the inclusion manager and the subject leader for mathematics. I also met with two members of the governing body and the chief executive officer of the trust. I spoke with pupils during lessons and when listening to them read. I made short visits to every classroom with you and we looked at pupils’ books. I scrutinised various documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans and safeguarding documents. I considered the 15 responses to the staff survey, the 61 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View, and 60 free-text responses to Parent View.

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